The no-show at the Australian Open increases fear for the future of tennis in Osaka

Naomi Osaka has not played a tennis match since September and her withdrawal from next week’s Australian Open has raised concerns that the former world number one may never appear on the court again.

Osaka’s social media accounts have remained silent since Tennis Australia tweeted on Sunday that the two-time Melbourne champion would miss the first Grand Slam of the year, giving no reason for her absence.

Osaka’s posts in recent months have shown her traveling in Europe with her boyfriend, rapper Cordae, and announced that her sports management agency had signed world number two Ons Jabeur.

But there is little evidence that the Japanese player has taken any time to train on court, fueling speculation that the four-time Grand Slam champion’s tennis career could be over at the age of 25.

Tennis writer Ben Rothenberg, who has written a biography of Osaka due out later this year, believes she has already taken a “significant step back” from the sport and is deliberately keeping quiet.

“I think he might want to be open about it because he doesn’t necessarily want to put a label on it,” he told AFP.

“I don’t think he would use the word ‘retirement,’ but if he retired from the sport for a while — and it could be a long time — I don’t know if he would want to say it out loud.

“I think he senses that it would evoke a lot of bells and whistles.”

– “More below than above” –

Osaka has previously spoken about struggling with her mental health and revealed that she suffered from depression.

He spent all of 2022 outside the top 10, enduring first-round losses at both the French and US Opens and pulling out of Wimbledon with an Achilles injury.

He also parted ways with longtime coach Wim Fissette last summer and replaced him with his father, Leonard Francois.

His last appearance was at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September, where the home favorite withdrew before his second-round match complaining of stomach pains.

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He told reporters at that tournament that he had been through “more downs than ups” in 2022 and that he had “learned a lot” about himself.

He is now ranked 47th in the world after hitting the top for the first time in 2019.

Rothenberg believes that Osaka is “recalculating things” and may decide that she is not ready to make the necessary sacrifices to continue as a professional tennis player.

“For him, the math doesn’t add up right now because he wants to commit,” he said.

“He knows how much work it is and how all-encompassing and worrying it is to be an active Full-time player with his own standards.

“He’s already won so much that he’s not going to settle for just being a top 20 player again.”

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, then the undisputed world number one, stunned the tennis world in March last year when she announced her retirement at the age of 25.

He explained that he was “physically used” and had no further need to continue.

– Business interests –

Osaka has several interests outside of playing tennis, including his sports management agency Evolve, whose clients include Jabeur and Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios.

He has also invested in Pickleball, a tennis-like sport that is growing rapidly in the United States and has numerous endorsements.

In addition to being a tennis player, her website describes herself as a “fashion geek,” “entrepreneur,” and “advocate for social change.”

Forbes named Osaka the world’s top-earning female athlete of 2022, with earnings of $51.1 million, even as her tennis career continued to plummet.

Rothenberg says Osaka is being pressured by sponsors to “stay on the hamster wheel” in professional tennis.

But he says the fact that he’s chosen not to is proof that he’s “making this decision on his own.”

“Regardless of his reasons, players almost always make mistakes when they decide to play,” he said.

“So for him to take a break, I think it shows good management of the situation.”

And Rothenberg believes Osaka still has plenty of time to make a comeback if she wants to.

“He’s got more runway in front of him if he wants to rise again and get back on the tour,” he said.

“But it doesn’t get any easier with more free time. The more time he spends away, it doesn’t get any easier.”

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