Following her decision to withdraw from
Roland Garros citing mental health concerns, World No.2
Naomi Osaka announced on Monday that she will also be withdrawing from the WTA Berlin tournament, which kicks off on June 14.
The WTA 500 tournament is the second grass-court event of the season after Nottingham, and is considered a warm-up for
Wimbledon by the top players. Osaka was scheduled to compete at this event, but notified the tournament directors of her decision to withdraw.
“We have received notification Naomi Osaka cannot start in Berlin,” the tournament organizers said. “After consulting her management, she will take a break.”
Skipping this event has put some doubt on Osaka's participation at the All England Club, with the possibility of the Japanese star even missing out on the
Olympic Games in Tokyo, which is scheduled to begin in late July.
The World No.2 has been embroiled in controversy over the last few days, which began when she announced she'd be withdrawing from the
French Open. This came a day after the tournament organizers chose to fine the Japanese superstar for refusing to do press interviews at Roland Garros, as she revealed her struggle with depression and anxiety.
Since withdrawing from Paris, Osaka finally broke her silence over the weekend as she uploaded a short statement to her Instagram page. Now back home in the United States, the 23-year old expressed her gratitude to her fans who have shown support since she left Paris.
“Just want to thank you for all the love,” Osaka wrote on her Instagram story. “Haven’t been on my phone much but I wanted to hop on here and tell you all that I really appreciate it.”