Where is Naomi Osaka now? All you need to know about her participation in the Australian Open 2023

Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka has been absent from the WTA Tour for a while now. There have been a lot of questions regarding her participation in the upcoming 2023 Australian Open.

The 25-year-old last appeared on court in September 2022 when she competed at the Toray Pan Pacific Ocean. She reached the second round of the WTA 500 tournament after her first-round opponent Daria Saville retired due to a knee injury.

Osaka was scheduled to face Beatriz Haddad Maia in the round of 16 but pulled out of the match, citing abdominal pain. This ended her 2022 season.

Naomi Osaka is yet to play a match in 2023 and there is a lot of mystery surrounding her participation in future events.

Naomi Osaka has been enjoying her off-season after withdrawing from the Pan Pacific Open. The Japanese player took a trip to Europe with her boyfriend Cordae during the festive season and shared a few pictures of it on Instagram, including one with the Mona Lisa in the background.

Osaka is still in the United States as she shared an image of herself in a Los Angeles pilates studio earlier this week.

The two-time US and Australian Open champion recently welcomed World No. 2 Ons Jabeur to her sports agency, Evolve.

“I first met Ons at the WTA Rising Stars event in 2015, and my immediate thought while interacting with her was, ’Wow, she's the nicest person I’ve ever met.' I was extremely shy so all I could ever do was mumble out a few words but she always came up to me, cracked jokes and made me feel more comfortable. Even now, when we play the same tournaments, she still does the same.

Osaka added:

"That kind of kindness is something that I will never forget and I think moments like that are what define your character. Over the years, watching her rise through the tour and become the star that she is, has been incredibly joyful to watch and I can’t wait to see her create more history and ascend even higher."

When was the last time Naomi Osaka played a tennis match?

Osaka's last appearance on the WTA Tour came at the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo, in September 2022. The Japanese entered the WTA 500 event as the defending champion and faced Daria Saville in the first round.

She won the first game of the match before the 28-year-old was forced to retire due to a knee injury. Osaka thus advanced to the second round where she was scheduled to take on Beatriz Haddad Maia. The Japanese was forced to withdraw from the match due to an abdominal pain.

Osaka's 2022 season ended with 14 wins out of 23 matches. Her most notable performance of the season was reaching the final of the Miami Open. The former World No. 1 beat Astra Sharma, Angelique Kerber, Karolina Muchova, Alison Riske, Danielle Collins, and Belinda Bencic before being thrashed 6-4, 6-0 by Iga Swiatek in the final.

She also reached the semifinals of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 with wins over Alize Cornet, Maryna Zanevska, and Andrea Petkovic, before withdrawing from the tournament due to fitness reasons.

Will Naomi Osaka play in the 2023 Australian Open?

There have been a lot of questions surrounding Naomi Osaka's participation in the Australian Open despite her name being in the Grand Slam's entry list. Several players have already arrived in the country to practice ahead of the tournament, but the former World No. 1 hasn't done so.

According to the Australian Associated Press, the tournament officials -

"appear quietly resigned to Osaka not competing at Melbourne Park from January 16-29 as concerns grow that the four-time grand slam champion may not return to the court at all."

Naomi Osaka previously won the Australian Open twice, in 2019 and 2021. Last year, she reached the third round of the tournament before losing to Amanda Anisimova.