Naomi Osaka makes major Wimbledon, Olympics calls after quitting French Open

Naomi Osaka has revealed what her next moves will be after sparking a controversial firestorm with her sad French Open exit.

Naomi Osaka will not play at Wimbledon but is hoping to be back on court for the Tokyo Olympics.

The tennis star recently pulled out of the French Open after one match, citing mental health concerns, and her agent confirmed she will not be taking to the grass for the year’s third grand slam.

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“Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year,” a statement read. “She is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans.”

Osaka sparked a huge storm when she declared before her round one match at Roland Garros she would not be attending any press conferences because of the alleged lack of care shown for athletes’ mental wellbeing.

She was widely criticised for taking that stance as some in the media accused her of lying while fellow players including Ash Barty distanced themselves from the four-time major winner, saying speaking to the press was part of the job that comes with playing professional tennis.

Osaka then quit the French Open, revealing she has suffered “long bouts of depression” since 2018 and gets “anxiety” when speaking to the world’s media.

The 23-year-old said following her withdrawal she was taking some time out of the game, but wouldn’t put a timeline on her return.

It now seems that comeback will be on the big stage of the Olympics, which start in just over a month’s time.

Osaka isn’t ready to return to tennis just yet. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images).

Osaka’s announcement she is skipping Wimbledon comes the day after All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton said she was hopeful the world’s highest-paid female athlete would take part in the tournament, which gets underway on June 28.

“We’ve reached out to her team, we haven’t spoken to Naomi herself,” Bolton said on Thursday. “At this point in time she’s entered into the championships and we haven’t received confirmation that she won’t compete.”

Tournament director Jamie Baker said he had told Osaka’s entourage the phone lines were always open to discuss any issues that might arise.

“I had the conversation with her team,” said Baker. “It’s absolutely clear that we’re here, we’re completely open for any discussions when they want to have that. Hopefully it goes without saying that we want the best players competing here no matter what.”

Osaka was fined nearly $AUD20,000 and threatened with disqualification from Roland Garros after she refused to honour mandatory media commitments.

French Open organisers protested that they had treated her with “care and respect” after they were accused of being heavy-handed.

Osaka lost in the third round of Wimbledon in 2017 and 2018 and bowed out in the first round in 2019. Last year’s tournament was cancelled due to coronavirus.

With AFP