Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD/MELBOURNE: Two-time Tennis champion Naomi Osaka has formally withdrawn from the Australian Open, adding her name to a growing list of notable withdrawals.
Tournament organisers confirmed in a tweet on Sunday that Osaka, the Open champion in 2019 and 2021, will not be playing in Melbourne.
Osaka has not played since September
With her ranking down to 47, the Japanese Tennis star has not played since she withdrew from the second round in Tokyo in September due to abdominal pains. Osaka has won only one completed match since May and was beaten in the first round of her three previous tournaments, including the US Open.
The highest-earning female athlete of 2020 and the former No 1 withdrew in the first round of her previous three events, including the US Open, which she won twice.
