Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is set to miss Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury, per BBC’s Russell Fuller.
Osaka has been hampered by an Achilles injury since Madrid and she has played only event since.
Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from Wimbledon – citing the Achilles injury, which has hindered her recently. She said at Roland Garros that she was leaning towards not playing in any case, as without ranking points it would feel more like an exhibition.
— Russell Fuller (@russellcfuller) June 18, 2022
After withdrawing from Rome, Osaka competed at the French Open, where she suffered a first round loss to Amanda Anisimova.
Osaka was scheduled to kick off her grass season this week in Berlin, but she pulled out of the event.
Now, Osaka has pulled of WImbledon as well and she is set to miss the whole grass season for the second year in a row.
Osaka has never enjoyed much success at Wimbledon as she only reached back-to-back third rounds at the tournament in 2017 and 2018.
Osaka suggested she would skip Wimbledon
After losing her French Open first round match, Osaka suggested there was no point in playing a “pointless Wimbledon.”
“I would say the decision is kind of affecting my mentality going into grass, like I’m not 100 percent sure if I’m going to go there,” Osaka said. “I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass court, but like at the same time, for me, it’s kind of like – I don’t want to say pointless, no pun intended, but I’m the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up.”
Also, Osaka said she was bothered by an Achilles injury as she took a painkiller before entering the court for the Anisimova match.
“I took a painkiller before my match. I still kind of felt it a little, which I’m going to see what happens when it wears off,” Osaka said after the loss.
Osaka will likely return to action during the North American hard court swing.
Last year, Osaka took a break after the French Open and return to action at the Tokyo Olympics.