Australian Open officials are “crawling” to find out if Naomi Osaka will play

Australian Open officials are reportedly remaining in the dark as to whether two-time champion Naomi Osaka will play – with organizers unsure if she even went Down Under.

Just 11 days after the inaugural 2023 Grand Slam, Osaka, who won the women’s tournament at Melbourne Park in 2019 and 2021, is a question mark for organizers, which would deal a major blow to the women’s draw if she weren’t there.

Osaka has kept a low profile of late, not playing a game in four months and showing very little sign of stepping up training for Australia.

There are doubts if former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka will play at the Australian Open

Osaka was on vacation with her boyfriend in Europe recently when they saw the Mona Lisa

Her Instagram revealed that she recently ended up back in the United States after vacationing in Europe with a rapper boyfriend Cordae.

One of the pictures she posted shows the couple in Paris, France, posing in front of the famous Mona Lisa painting in the Louvre.

A second hint that she’s still not in Australia surfaced on her Instagram story when she was tagged in a photo taken at a Los Angeles Pilates studio.

Osaka has not played a game in four months and does not appear to be signed for Australia

The Australian Associated Press has reported that while Osaka is on the entry list for the women’s singles, organizers have “quietly accepted” the former world No. 1 not playing.

The report adds that some even question whether she will ever return to the tennis court.

Her absence from voting events in both Adelaide and Hobart was taken as a sign of her expected absence from Melbourne.

The absence of 2022 Australian Open champion Ash Barty, who has opted to retire, as well as Serena Williams and Roger Federer already means some of the sport’s biggest names will not feature in the season-opening Slam, much to the chagrin of the organizers.

She was beaten in the first round of the US Open and is believed to still be touring the US

Osaka, now ranked 42 in the world, has not played since she pulled out of a second-round match in Tokyo in September after complaining of a stomach ache.

Her last win came against Daria Saville in Tokyo – but that was an incomplete match, with Aussie Saville suffering a cruciate ligament rupture.

Osaka’s form, or lack thereof, has seen her lose to Danielle Collins in straight sets in the first round of her last three tournaments, including the 2022 final slam, the US Open.

The draw for the Australian Open will take place next Thursday and all eyes will be on the entry sheet to see if Osaka is officially eliminated.