Naomi Osaka Withdraws From Wimbledon, Citing Achilles’ Injury

Osaka has won both hard court Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian and U.S. Opens — twice but has never made it past the third round at the French Open, which is played on clay, or the third round at Wimbledon, which is played on grass. She has yet to reach a final at any tour event on clay or grass, and while her career singles record on hard courts is a formidable 133-56, her career singles record is 21-17 on clay and 11-9 on grass. She has struggled with her movement and timing on surfaces other than hard courts, which she primarily trained on during her formative years in Florida.

Her powerful first serve, penetrating and relatively flat groundstrokes, and ability to counterpunch from low body positions would seemingly prime her to succeed on grass. For now, however, her record does not reflect that potential.

Osaka last played Wimbledon in 2019, losing in the first round in a year that saw her change coaches after rising to No. 1 in the rankings, and she did not participate in last year’s tournament during a break from tennis to address her mental health. She is ranked No. 43 this week, up from a low of 85 earlier this season.

Since reaching the final of the Miami Open in April, where she lost to new No. 1 Iga Swiatek, Osaka has won just one singles match and has withdrawn from the Italian Open, the Berlin Open and Wimbledon.

She is targeting a return to the tour in the first week of August when the circuit comes back to North America with hard court events in Washington, D.C., and San Jose, Calif.

For now, Osaka will continue to rehabilitate. She began her post on Saturday with, “after the storm comes the calm.”

“This is a saying that I’m actively trying to master,” she wrote. “I feel like life keeps dealing cards and you’re never gonna be used to them but it’s how you adapt to uncomfortable situations that really says stuff about your character.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/18/sports/tennis/naomi-osaka-wimbledon-withdraw.html