Former world tennis number one Naomi Osaka announced a few days ago that she will not participate in this year’s Australian Open. Now the 25-year-old athlete has found an explanation and announced her pregnancy. “2023 will be full of lessons for me”, he has declared according to BBC Osaka, saying he hopes to return to tennis next year.
“One thing I look forward to is my son watching one of my games and saying to someone, ‘This is my mom,'” she wrote in a statement on Twitter.
The two-time US Open champion last played a competitive match in her native Tokyo. Although she Osaka won her opening match here against Darje Saville, she had to withdraw due to health issues before her second round match.
Currently ranked 42nd in the WTA rankings, the two-time winner in Melbourne is the latest in a string of recent Australian Open winners to announce a maternity break.
Last year’s tournament winner Ashleigh Barty retired in March and announced last week that she was pregnant. Caroline Wozniacki, the 2018 champion, welcomed her second child with husband David Lee in October, he recalled The Guardian newspaper. Longtime world number one Serena Williams took a maternity break in 2017 and returned the same year. She continued to play tennis until 2022 when she ended her career.
After pulling out of the 2021 French Open, Osaka has spoken of suffering long bouts of depression since winning the breakthrough title at the 2018 US Open.
Subsequently, the tennis player spoke repeatedly and openly about mental health. “I don’t think there is a perfect path in life, but I’ve always thought that if you carry on with good intentions, you will eventually find your way,” he wrote on Wednesday.
