JUST IN: Tennis Star Naomi Osaka Will Bypass Wimbledon and Return for Tokyo Olympics After Mental Health Break
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Naomi Osaka will not compete in the 2021 Wimbledon Championships set to begin later this month, with her agent telling Sports Illustrated the tennis star will shift her focus to the Tokyo Olympics.
“Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year. She is taking some personal time with friends and family,” Osaka’s agent, Stuart Duguid told Jon Wertheim of SI. “She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans.”
“Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year. She is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans.”
— Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) June 17, 2021
Osaka withdrew from the French Open on May 31, citing mental health concerns in her announcement made on social media. The decision came days after Osaka stated she would not be speaking with any media at the French Open, a choice that was met with mixed reactions.
“I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer,” Osaka wrote in May. “More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that.”
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 31, 2021
The Japanese born tennis star is now set to make her return to the court in the Tokyo Olympics, July 23.
One of the sport’s brightest young athletes at just 23-years-old, Osaka is a four-time major champion and the No. 2 ranked women’s tennis player, having most recently won the Australian Open earlier this year.
