Naomi Osaka said she is leaning against competing at Wimbledon again because the tennis tours will not award ranking points this year after the All England Club banned players from Russia and Belarus over the Ukraine invasion.
The four-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one sat out Wimbledon in 2021 as part of a mental health hiatus after withdrawing from the French Open.
After succumbing in the first round at Roland Garros on Monday, Osaka said the decision by the ATP and WTA not to award Wimbledon points “kind of affects my mindset” and “I’m not 100% going to compete there.” .
“I’m the kind of player who gets motivated when I see my ranking go up,” she added.
The Japanese indicated that she needs to analyze the situation better before making a final determination and that she could change her mind.