Wimbledon 2023: 5 players set to miss the tournament ft. Rafael Nadal, Naomi Osaka & more
Two former World No. 1s — Rafael Nadal and Naomi Osaka — are among the notable absentees from this year's Wimbledon Championships. Both players have not played a lot of tennis in the last few months, so their absence did not come as the biggest surprise.
That said, there are a few names whose absence was indeed unexpected in the lead-up to the grasscourt Slam. Either way, we have listed five notable players who fans are likely to miss seeing at the All England Club this year.
#5 Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka had, in 2022, decided to take some time off tennis to focus on her mental health. Her initial break, however, extended to accommodate her maternity leave after she announced her pregnancy later last year.
The four-time Grand Slam champion last played at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, losing in the first round to the seasoned Yulia Putinseva. Osaka holds a lacklustre 4-3 win-loss record at the Championships. Given her current hiatus, fans will have to wait at least another year to watch the Japanese player find her stride on the lawns.
#4 Two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal
One of only two former winners on our list, Rafael Nadal is one player whose absence will leave one of the big voids in the men's competition. Even though Nadal has not posted the best results at the All England Club in the last few years, his presence in the draw heightens the stakes.
Nadal, unfortunately, continues to nurse the hip injury that has ruled him out of competition ever since the start of the year. The Spaniard has not played any matches since failing to defend his Australian Open crown back in January this year.
#3 Marin Cilic
With his big serve and imposing stature, Marin Cilic was always destined for success on grass. The Croat came agonisingly close to lifting one of the biggest prizes that not only the surface, but the sport had to offer — only to fall short in the 2017 final against none other than Roger Federer.
If that wasn't indication enough of Cilic's talent on the surface, one may chose to rewind the tournament reel from 2021. 32 years young, Cilic nearly pulled off another stunner against Daniil Medvedev.
He might have gone down in five sets, but his performance only won him more fans at the All England Club. Sadly for them, a knee-injury hiatus can only mean another year of waiting.
#2 Amanda Anisimova
Speaking of a game tailor-made for grass, Amanda Anisimova seemed to have finally cracked the code for unleashing her power on grass at last year's Wimbledon Championships.
The inspired American, who took out the likes of Coco Gauff and Serena Williams-slayer Harmony Tan en-route to the quarterfinals, was stopped by Simona Halep. But she looked primed for future success.
Anisimova, however, decided to take time off tennis to focus on her mental health, akin to Osaka. She announced her decision in May this year, and is not ready to return just yet.
Luckily for fans and well-wishers, the American still misses tennis. It would be a matter of time before she's back to enjoying herself on the court — and hopefully, at the All England Club as well.
#1 2019 Wimbledon champ Simona Halep
It would be fair to say that no one saw the 2019 Championships final coming. Simona Halep, hitherto known only for her back-of-the-wall defence and claycourt exploits, conjured up an emphatic display of first-strike tennis. This allowed her to keep Serena Williams from lifting her record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title. She won many a fan that day.
However, what many of those fans also did not see coming was the doping ban that hit Halep at the back end of last year. After testing positive for the Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open, the Romanian was provisionally suspended from the competition. After a prolonged wait, her case hearing finally began this week.
Unfortunately for fans though, the same was a little too late to keep her name in the mix for this year's Wimbledon, despite it appearing on the initial entry list.