Naomi Osaka appears unlikely to bother with Wimbledon this summer, with the former No.1 admitting that playing an “exhibition” may not be worth her time and energy.
“I’m not sure why, but I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition,” the No. 38 said after taking a 7-5, 6-4 first-round loss at the French Open to Amanda Anisinova.
“I know this isn’t true, right? But my brain just feels that way. Whenever I think like something is like an exhibition, I just can’t go at it 100 per cent.”
The Japanese player who has played a limited schedule the past few seasons to avoid emotional and mental stress, said she is still considering her options regarding the grass-court major where she has never gotten past the third round.
“I haven’t made my decision yet, but I’m leaning more towards not playing given the current circumstances.
“But that might change. I do want to like rack up more experience on the grass.
“If I don’t end up playing on grass this year, I really want to go hard on the hard court swing, which is my favourite.”
