No globally 2 comes after World No. 1 Following Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal, the Australian Open announced that Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine had advanced to the first round.
On Sunday, two-time champion Naomi Osaka was dropped from the 2023 Australian Open. In Naomi Osaka’s place, Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska has been added to the Australian Open main draw. The tournament did not make it clear why this change was made. On January 16, the Australian Open will begin in Melbourne.
Osaka, a former Japanese world number one, competed at the Australian Open. However, she was not supposed to participate in the Hobart and Adelaide warm-up tournaments, which sparked speculation regarding her participation in the hard-court major. Naomi Osaka will not compete at the Australian Open.” “At #AO2023, we will miss her,” the Australian Open tweeted. The main draw is currently managed by Dayana Yastremska.
In 2019 and 2021, Osaka had won the title. The former world number one reached the third round of the 2017 tournament, but Amanda Anisimova defeated her with 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). Her final match was the September Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, and she had lost in the first round of the US Open the year before. She made it to the tournament’s second round before withdrawing due to illness.
Osaka withdrew from the Australian Open the day after Venus Williams, an American who has won seven Grand Slam titles, was unable to play because of an injury. This has resulted in two setbacks for the tournament’s organizers. Williams, who is entering her 30th season on the WTA Tour, suffered an injury at the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. As a direct consequence of this, she was forced to withdraw from the Australian Open, where she had been granted a wildcard.
Osaka took a break to focus on her mental health after missing the 2021 French Open, which dropped her to number 42 in the world rankings. She later admitted to being depressed.