Naomi Osaka, Image credit: AP
Miami: Naomi Osaka, a former world number one, announced on Wednesday that she is expecting a child and will take a break from tennis until 2024.
"I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I'm looking forward to is for my kid to watch my matches and tell someone, 'That's my mom' haha," she wrote on Twitter, accompanied by a picture of a pregnancy scan.
"2023 will be a year full of lessons for me, and I hope I'll see you guys at the start of the next one cause I will be back at the Australian Open 2024. Love you all infinitely," she added.
The 25-year-old Osaka hasn't competed in a tennis match since September, so many onlookers were perplexed by her decision to withdraw from the Australian Open, which begins next week, AFP reported.
The reason for Osaka's absence was not revealed until Wednesday.
Her most recent competition was the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo in September, but she withdrew due to abdominal pain before her second-round match as the home favourite.
The Japanese player who was the top-ranked player in the world in 2019 and was raised in the US is currently ranked number 47 in the world.
With victories in the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021 and the US Open in 2018 and 2020, Osaka has won four Grand Slam singles titles.
Forbes declared her the highest-paid female athlete in the world for 2022, with reported earnings of $51.1 million.
However, her on-court performance did not match her commercial success last year as she was defeated in the first round of both the French and US Opens and withdrew from Wimbledon due to an Achilles injury.
"These few months away from the sport have really given me a new love and appreciation for the game I've dedicated my life to. I realize that life is so short, and I don't take any moments for granted; every day is a new blessing and adventure," she wrote in her statement on Wednesday.