(Tennis news) Former world number 1 Naomi Osaka has announced her withdrawal from Wimbledon due to an achilles injury. The four time Grand Slam winner picked up the injury at the Madrid Open and will miss out on the prestigious grass court even for the third consecutive year, having chosen not to participate last year due to mental health reasons while the tournament was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19. 

The 24 year old last played in the first round of the French Open and had already announced that her participation at Wimbledon was doubtful since the tournament was stripped off its ranking points in 2022. In a statement released on Twitter, Osaka said “My Achilles still isn't right so I'll see you next time. 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 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?"

In other news, Eugenie Bouchard has also opted to not participate at Wimbledon due to the tournament having no ranking points. The 28 year old’s ranking dropped due to a shoulder injury but was still allowed to participate at the grass court event. The 2014 runner-up said in a statement: "As much as I love Wimbledon, and skipping it makes me sad, using a PR [priority ranking] entry at a tournament with no ranking points doesn't make sense. I must choose wisely and use my PR entries at tournaments that will help me get back to where I want to be. I will now use my two Grand Slam PR entries for the US Open and Australian Open."

Also read: Nadal set to compete at Wimbledon after recovering from foot injury