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Naomi Osaka withdraws from Wimbledon, will play in Olympics

The world No. 2 women’s tennis player will not feature in the sport’s marquee summer event.

By Chinmay Vaidya
French Open Tennis. Roland-Garros 2021.
Naomi Osaka of Japan in action against Patricia Maria Tig of Romania in the first round of the Women’s Singles competition on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the 2021 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 30th 2021 in Paris, France.
Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images

Naomi Osaka will not participate in Wimbledon, according to a statement from her team. She will be ready for the Tokyo Olympics in front of her home fans.

Osaka, the No. 2 women’s tennis player, made headlines after boycotting press conferences at the French Open in an effort to protect her mental health. She withdrew from the tournament after being fined for missing the first press conference in accordance with tournament guidelines.

The four-time Grand Slam singles champion would’ve been going for her first win at Wimbledon after making the third round in 2017 and 2018. After winning the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open, Osaka was on track for a banner year prior to her withdrawal from Roland Garros.

With Osaka no longer in contention, world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty and Serena Williams are the favorites to capture Wimbledon at +550 and +750 respectively. Barty will be going for her first Wimbledon title while Williams attempts to capture her eighth championship there. Barty retired from the second round of the French Open, while Williams lost in the fourth round.

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