“Stepping away from the sport,” Naomi Osaka’s biographer drops major bombshell after Australian Open withdrawal
Naomi Osaka's biographer Ben Rothenberg raises tensions among her fans as he hints at a possible hiatus from the sport for the Japanese.
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Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka was the third high-profile name to withdraw from the 2023 Australian Open. Following Carlos Alcaraz and Venus Williams, Osaka became the third player in less than 48 hours to pull out. While Alcaraz and Williams are nursing their injuries, Osaka’s reason was not specified.
The player did not announce the withdrawal on her own. Rather, the Grand Slam informed the tennis fraternity of Osaka’s decision in order to re-arrange the draw. Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam title winner and a two-time Australian Open winner. With the hardcourts being her specialty, her withdrawal led to many questions.
Ben Rothenberg, journalist, and author of ‘Naomi Osaka: Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice’ recently offered his two cents on the whole matter.
“I think she might want to be opaque about it because she doesn’t want to put a label on it necessarily. I don’t think she would use the word ‘retiring’, but if she was stepping away from the sport for a while — and it could be for any length of time — I don’t know that she would want to speak that out loud. I think she would sense that that would raise a lot of bells and whistles.
“For her, the math is not adding up right now, for her to want to make the commitment. She knows how much work it is and how all-encompassing and preoccupying it is to be an active full-time player with the standards that she has. She’s won so much already, she’s not going to be content just to be a top-20 player again,” said Rothenberg as per AFP.
Related: Tennis ace Naomi Osaka deserves no sympathy
Ben Rothenberg believes time away from the court is not good for Naomi Osaka
Upon hearing of Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal from the 2023 Australian Open, there was a mixed reaction among the tennis community. Many were expecting her to have a fresh start to the season this year. Quite a few saw it as good riddance as the focus will now remain on only tennis. Ben Rothenberg however had other concerns as well for Osaka.
“Whatever her reasons may be, players almost always err on the side of choosing to play. So for her to hit pause, I think shows a good deal of control of the situation. She has more runway in front of her if she wants to take back off again and get back on tour. But it won’t get any easier with more time off. The more time she spends away, it will not get easier,” added Rothenberg.
As fans await to know what really caused Osaka’s withdrawal, the answer can only be given by the player. Aged 25, Osaka still has a long way to go in her career and life. Even if she takes a break from tennis, it won’t make her the first one to do so. However, clear communication will keep the fans happy and present her side better to others.
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