JAKARTA - Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka has added to the list of top players who withdrew from the year's opening Grand Slam.
The organizer, Tennis Australia, was not given a reason why the Japanese player decided to be absent.
"We will miss him in AO2023," Tennis Australia tweeted, quoted by Antara, Sunday, January 8.
Meanwhile, Dayana Yastremska from Ukraine was promoted to the main draw at Melbourne Park due to Osaka' absence, Antara reported from AFP.
Osaka has not competed competitively since September and a number of media reports last week mentioned that, although the tennis player is on the official list, Tennis Australia has difficulty confirming Osaka's whereabouts.
The 25-year-old tennis player is indicated, through his social media accounts, he is traveling in Europe with his girlfriend, rapper Cordae.
Osaka's absence was a blow to the tournament that will start on January 16 after the US Open champion and world number two Carlos Alcaraz withdrew on Friday with a leg injury.
US veteran Venus Williams will also miss an appearance in Melbourne following an injury she picked up during the Auckland Classic match and handed back the wildcard she had previously received.
Australian Open organizers have staggered following the decision to retire champion Ashleigh Barty and legend Serena Williams, as well as Roger Federer last year.
Former world number one and second place winner Grand Slam Simona Halep also did not appear following sanctions last October for being caught consuming the forbidden roxadustate.
However, nine-time champion Novak Djokovic will return to Melbourne after missing last year's tournament when he was deported for his vaccination status.
Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal, who won the 2022 title when Djokovic was absent, will also appear, inheriting the first seeded spot from Alcaraz.
Osaka, champions in Melbourne in 2019 and 2021, last competed in a tournament in Tokyo last September before pulling away due to a stomach injury so that her position slipped to 42nd in the world.
The four Grand Slam champion has also stated that he is struggling with mental health and throughout 2022 is outside the top ten.
He lost in the first half of the French Open and the US Open, before withdrawing from Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury.
"This year is not the best year for me but I learned a lot about myself," Osaka said at the Pan Pacific Open in September last year.
"The wheel of life is sometimes above sometimes below, and this year is more often below than above, but overall I'm quite happy with where I am now."
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