Naomi Osaka pulls out of Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury

KARACHI: Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, withdrew from Wimbledon due to an Achilles issue.

Due to the lack of ranking points, the 24-year-old had earlier stated that she was "unsure" if she will play Wimbledon.

Wimbledon was docked points by the ATP and WTA after the event excluded Russian and Belarusian players in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

When the singles entrance list for Wimbledon was posted last week, Osaka's name appeared, but she has yet to compete in any of the grass-court competitions.

Following her first-round exit at the French Open, Osaka stated that she was "not 100 percent sure" she would compete in the SW19 competition.

"The intention of this measure was good, but the execution is all over the place," Osaka said in May of the decision to strip Wimbledon of points.

"I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it's more like an exhibition. I know this isn't true, right? But my brain just like feels that way.

"I would love to go, just to get some experience on the grass court, but at the same time I'm the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up."

After taking many pauses from the sport last year to protect her mental health, the world number 43 has plummeted down the rankings.

Osaka has never advanced past the third round at Wimbledon, having won the US Open in 2018 and 2020 and the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021.

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