Two-time champion Naomi Osaka withdraws from Australian Open 2023

Two-times champion Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the 2023 Australian Open, organisers said on Sunday. No particular reason has been given for the withdrawal and the Australian Open said that Ukranian Dayana Yastremska has been moved into the main draw in Osaka's absence. The Australian Open begins on January 16 in Melbourne.

The Japanese former world number one's name was on the entry list for the Australian Open but Osaka was not scheduled to play in warm-up tournaments in Adelaide and Hobart, raising doubts about her participation in the hardcourt major. "Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from the Australian Open. We will miss her at #AO2023," the Australian Open tweeted. "Dayana Yastremska moves into the main draw."

Osaka had won the title in 2019 and 2021. Last year, the former No.1 advanced to the third round, where she bowed out to Amanda Anisimova 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). She had been knocked out of the US Open last year in the first round and last played in the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September. She reached the second round of that tournament before withdrawing due to illness.

Osaka's withdrawala from the Australian Open comes a day after American seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams was ruled out of the Australian Open due to injury in a double blow to the organisers. Williams, who is into the 30th season on the WTA Tour, sustained an injury at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, thus forcing her to withdraw from the Australian Open for which she had received a wildcard.

Osaka, who has slipped to 42 in the world rankings, had taken a break to prioritise her mental health after skipping the 2021 French Open and later said that she was battling depression.

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