Is Naomi Osaka playing Wimbledon 2022? Why tennis star isn’t at this year’s championships - injury latest

The former US Open and Australian Open champion is a notable absentee from the All England Club this year.
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Naomi Osaka will not be taking part in either the women’s singles or women’s doubles at Wimbledon this year.

The former world number one is a notable absentee from the field of competitors and this marks the second year in a row she will not take part at the All England Club.

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Osaka, 24, withdrew from the 2021 French Open and Wimbledon due to mental health issues and also declined to participate in media duties.

Here is everything you need to know about why the Japanese star is not taking part in the tournament this year:

Naomi Osaka misses Wimbledon through injury

Osaka has been suffering from an injury to her Achilles tendon which has forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon 2022.

The four time Grand Slam champion first started struggling with the problem during the Australian Open earlier this year as she was eliminated in the third round.

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She was then knocked out of the French Open in May in the first round and the injury has not sufficiently subsided to allow her to compete at the All England Club.

Osaka had been keeping her fans updated via her official Twitter account but had to break the news earlier this month that she was unable to participate.

She wrote: “My Achilles still isn’t right, so I’ll see you next time.”

That was accompanied by a message which said: “After the storm comes the calm. This is a saying that I’m actively trying to master. I feel like life keeps dealing cards, and you’re never gonna be used to them, but it’s about how you adapt to uncomfortable situations that really says stuff about your character. I’ve been repeating mantras in my head a lot recently. I don’t know if it’s to subconsciously help myself through stressful times, or to ease my mind into realising that everything will work out fine as long as I put the work in. Cause what more can you do?”

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Less than two weeks earlier she had posted a video to her account of her trying to rehab in time.

She wrote: “Here’s me running on a underwater treadmill because my Achilles is being stubborn still. I must be aging or something.”

Wimbledon 2022 women’s singles odds

The 2019 and 2021 Australian Open champion and 2018 and 2020 US Open champion would have undoubtedly been considered a strong contender to make an impact at the All England Club this year.

However, her current world ranking of 43 and previous performances at Wimbledon suggest she may not have been considered amongst the favourites having achieved a career best of only reaching the thrid round in 2017 and 2018.

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World number one and French Open champion Iga Swiatek is the pre-tournament favourite to win the Women’s Singles event this year.

Ons Jabeur is the second favourite at 6/1 and Petra Kvitova third favourite at 10/1 while Cori Gauff is close behind in the current market at 11/1.

Seven time champion Serena Williams can be backed at 20/1 while 2019 winner Simona Halep is 17/1 and the UK’s Emma Raducanu starts the tournament as a 40/1 outsider.

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