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Naomi Osaka drops out of Wimbledon

The withdrawal follows Osaka's exit from the French Open last month.

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Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
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Naomi Osaka serves on a clay court

Naomi Osaka serves in a tennis match at the French Open on May 30.

 Julian Finney/Getty Images

Tennis star Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from Wimbledon. The No. 2 ranked women's tennis player in the world will be "taking some personal time with friends and family," according to a statement by her reps given to Sports Center Thursday.

Osaka "will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans," the statement added.

"Naomi Osaka will be greatly missed by all of us at Wimbledon this year, but we completely understand her decision," Wimbledon told CNET in an emailed statement. "We wish her a happy time with her friends and family and look forward to welcoming her back to Wimbledon next year."

The withdrawal follows Osaka dropping out of the French Open in May after facing a $15,000 fine from tournament organizers for declining to take part in media interviews. Osaka had cited mental health reasons for not wanting to meet with the press during the tennis tournament.

"I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," Osaka, 23, wrote in a statement describing her struggles with depression. "I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018."

Wimbledon is slated to take place from June 28 until July 11. Tournament organizers didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.