Naomi Osaka stays firm, withdraws from ‘point-less’ Wimbledon 2022


Naomi Osaka stays firm, withdraws from ‘point-less’ Wimbledon 2022

Naomi Osaka

World No. 43 and 4-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has confirmed her participation status for the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and it is no surprise that the Japanese star will not be playing at the All-England Club this year. Naomi had been reserved about her desire to compete in the Grand Slam this year but had already hinted that she might actually skip.

ADVERTISEMENT

The first hints were dropped by Naomi at the 2022 French Open where she lost in the first round itself to Amanda Anisimova in straight-sets. With the decision by ATP and WTA official by then of stripping this year’s Wimbledon of ranking points for the Grand Slam’s decision to ban Russian players, Osaka had admitted in a press conference that she might skip this year’s ‘pointless’ Wimbledon as it does not boost her ranking in any way as she is on her mission to enter the Top-10 once again.

Also Read: “Are you playing for a computer ranking?” Martina Navratilova slams Naomi Osaka for her comments on Wimbledon

Naomi Osaka’s comments on Wimbledon

Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka

After her defeat to Anisimova, Osaka was asked about her plans for the coming weeks and of course this year’s controversial Wimbledon. Giving no possible clue about her next event, Osaka had hinted that she might not feature on Grass at all and could return to action directly during the hardcourt season.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I am not one-hundred percent sure if I am going to go there. I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass court. I wouldn’t like to say it’s pointless – no pun intended, but I am the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up,” Osaka had said in her press conference at the Roland Garros.

Osaka’s decision can be understood given her sorry record on Grass as well. The 4-time major winner has a career record of 18-14 on the Grass and has not played on the surface since 2019. In Wimbledon, she is yet to go past the 3rd round having reached the stage in 2017 and 2018. At the 2019 Wimbledon, she lost in the first round itself and has a 4-4 record at the All-England Club.

Also Read: “United States of China”- Dutch Politician slams Joe Biden after Novak Djokovic’s US Open ban

Also Read: “Discriminating against professionals” Denis Shapovalov lashes out at Queen’s Club over their biased treatment of female players

ADVERTISEMENT

Follow our page FirstSportz Tennis for the latest updates