Naomi Osaka withdraws from Wimbledon 2022 citing Achilles injury, set to miss 2nd consecutive edition
Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, citing an achilles injury, after being initially named on the entry list a few days ago. This will be the second consecutive edition where the Japanese superstar will miss out on the only grasscourt Major of the season.
Osaka updated fans and followers of her decision on Twitter with a heartfelt message attached to her post that said:
"After the storm comes the calm."
🏾
my Achilles still isn’t right so I’ll see you next time 🥹🌱👋🏾 https://t.co/mryWdKnitN
After her first-round exit at the French Open last month, Naomi Osaka raised uncertainty about her participation at Wimbledon due to the decision by the tennis governing body to take away ranking points from this year's Wimbledon championships. This came after the All England Club's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from the 2022 edition.
Wimbledon update
OUT: Osaka, Bouchard
IN: Pera, Pigossi
NEXT: Masarova
Eugenie Bouchard, the 2014 singles finalist, also joined Osaka in pulling out of Wimbledon this season. Speaking at Roland Garros, World No. 43 Osaka feared that the lack of ranking points would affect her motivation to play at Wimbledon.
She stated:
"I would say like the decision is kind of affecting, like, my mentality going into grass, like I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to go there."
"I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass court, but like at the same time, for me, it's kind of like -- I don't want to say pointless, no pun intended (smiling), but I'm the type of player that gets motivated by, like, seeing my ranking go up or like, you know, stuff like that," Naomi Osaka said on the same.
She further expressed that playing an event without points, despite the stature of Wimbledon, feels like an exhibition tournament where she would be unable to give her 100 percent.
"Yeah, like for me, I'm not sure why, but like, I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it's more like an exhibition. I know this isn't true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. Whenever I think like something is like an exhibition, I just can't go at it 100%," Osaka said further.
Osaka withdrew from last year's French Open in the second round and missed out on the Wimbledon championships due to mental health struggles. She was at No. 2 in the WTA rankings back then. The Japanese only played three more tournaments in 2021, including the Cincinnati Open and the US Open, making early exits in all those events.
Her lack of form continued this year, especially at the Majors. However, she reached the Miami Open final in April.
Naomi Osaka out of Wimbledon. Not too surprising, but still sad. Hoping she can comeback healthy for her favorite part of the season…
Naomi Osaka's past record at the Wimbledon Championships
Wimbledon is among the least successful major tournaments of Naomi Osaka's career, along with the French Open. Her best result at the iconic grasscourt Grand Slam event is a third round appearance in 2017.
The 2017 edition was Osaka's debut at Wimbledon, where she entered ranked 59 in the world. She defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo and Barbora Strycova in the first two rounds, before losing in straight sets in the third round to five-time champion Venus Williams.
Naomi Osaka in Grand Slam events
Winner:
#AusOpen 2019
#USOpen 2018, 2020
Finalist:
#AusOpen2021
Best performance at
#FrenchOpen 2016, 2018, 2019 (R3)
#Wimbledon 2017, 2018 (R3)
#AusOpen2021
#AustralianOpen2021
The Japanese player was World No. 18 in the 2018 edition, where she also bowed out in round three. She defeated Monica Niculescu and Katie Boulter in straight sets before losing to another former champion in Angelique Kerber.
Osaka was a much more accomplished player when she entered the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, having won two of the last three Grand Slams (US Open 2018 and Australian Open 2019). However, she could not find her feet at Wimbledon, losing 6(4)-7, 2-6 to Yulia Putintseva in the opening round.