Naomi Osaka still registered to play Wimbledon, organizers say

Naomi Osaka to participate in Wimbledon? According to the organizers, the answer is “yes”. For the moment. The four-time Grand Slam winner (US Open 2018 and 2020, Australian Open 2019 and 2021), 23, warned, after her sudden withdrawal from Roland Garros, that she was taking a step back from the game because of depression and anxiety problems.

However, on Wednesday Sally Bolton, general manager of the All England Club, said that as it stands, Osaka will be in attendance for the tournament, which begins on June 28. “We contacted her team, we did not speak to Naomi herself“, revealed Bolton.”For now, she is registered for the tournament and we have not received confirmation that she will not participate.“, she added.

Tournament director Jamie Baker explained that he told people around Osaka to be available to chat over the phone about any issues that may arise. “I had a conversation with his team“, Baker announced.”It is absolutely clear that we are there, we are completely open to any discussion whenever they want. Hope it goes without saying that we want the best players to compete here no matter what.“, he underlined. Osaka, world number two, created a shock in the world of tennis at the beginning of June by refusing to participate in the press conferences at Roland-Garros for”maintain mental health“.

Sanctioned with a fine of $ 15,000, she was also threatened with exclusion not only from the Paris tournament, but also from other Grand Slam events. Faced with this sudden rise in tension, she preferred to leave the Paris tournament, after having explained that she had gone through “long periods of depression“since 2018. The organizers of Roland-Garros protested saying they had treated her with “care and respect” after being accused of having a heavy hand. Osaka lost in the third round at Wimbledon in 2017 and 2018 and lost in the first round in 2019. Last year the tournament was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.