Wimbledon lacking star power with Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal following Nadal’s

Wimbledon lacking star power with Naomi Osaka’s withdrawal.

Rafa Nadal announced that he will not be attending Wimbledon or the Olympics, following Federer’s deflated loss at his grass-court warm up. Now Naomi Osaka has decided to take time off from the grass major. Wimbledon will be lacking its luster once it starts later this month.

The former world No. 1—and current No. 2—revealed her battle with depression and anxiety while withdrawing from Roland Garros in the first week. This came after her boycott of the media, which prompted the grand slams to issue a stern warning to the tennis star if she continued her embargo, with even the threat of expulsion from the slams looming as a possibility. Rather than stir controversy further, 23-year-old Osaka took herself out of the picture completely, which forced a dialogue about the state of mental health in sports, drawing plenty of praise as well as criticism.

After her absence from the French, the reigning Australian Open proceeded to skip the Berlin WTA 5000 grass-court tournament at the beginning of the week. Her announcement of a Wimbledon withdrawal wasn’t necessarily unexpected, although it is a big setback for the only major that was cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic (the French Open was rescheduled).

“Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year,” Naomi’s agent said in a statement, according to ESPN. “She is taking some personal time with friends and family.”

Wimbledon is slated to begin June 28 and is looking for a bounce back from the disappointment of last year. The tournament also announced on Tuesday that the men’s and women’s finals will play to full capacity crowds, a huge boost for the sport, where most tournaments have been viewed with sporadically attended matches due to pandemic restrictions.

Wimbledon organizers had attempted to work with the Japanese star to find a solution with the media requirements, according to ESPN, which referenced All England Club chief executive Sally Bolton on Thursday.

Naomi Osaka is the highest paid female athlete and a hugely important presence in sport. Her continued absence is a disturbing concern that continues to hover over the women’s game.

The two-time U.S. Open winner did concede to participating in the Olympics in her statement, providing a massive relief to the Tokyo Games. Naomi Osaka is the country’s most renowned athlete, and her image has been utilized throughout the buildup to Tokyo. Since Roland Garros, her participation has been in flux, but all that was assuaged with her statement about representing her country at the Olympics, schedule to get underway July 23.

“She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans,” Osaka’s statement read. Her presence will be a welcome relief for the country already dealing with plenty of controversy as it goes ahead with the Games.

Rafael Nadal will be out for a while

Rafael Nadal, meanwhile, won’t be there, opting to skip both Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, which he announced via social media Thursday. The 13-time French Open slam winner was the expected favorite in Paris, until he met the freight train of Novak Djokovic, who ousted the King of Clay in a thrilling four-set semifinal.

“The goal is to prolong my career and continue to do what makes me happy, that is to compete at the highest level and keep fighting for those professional and personal goals at the maximum level of competition,” stated the two-time Wimbledon champ, who took home the trophy in 2008 (considered by many the best match ever played, between him and Federer) and 2010. Nadal was defeated in the semis in his last two showings: in 2018 by Djokovic, and in 2019 by Fed.

Rafa noted that the short windup for grass season is too taxing on his body. Grass season is the briefest of the surface seasons and truly is short-changed, in my opinion. When you consider the historical significance of the surface to the game and the prestige that Wimbledon holds on the sport, it really is a shame that the grass season is as abrupt as it is.

The emotional blow that Nadal’s loss to Novak is probably also messing with his confidence. Combined with his withdrawal from the grass major, the two-time gold medalist will not be participating in the Tokyo Olympics, to broaden his chances for preparation for the U.S. Open, where he won the title as recently as 2019.

Having a gold in singles at the 2008 Beijing Games, and a thrilling doubles gold in Rio in 2016, the loss of Rafael Nadal in Tokyo is a major disappointment.

And let’s not even get started on Federer

Nadal’s great rival, Roger Federer, is coming off his own disappointment, having not made the quarters at his grass-prep tournament in Halle in 18 years. His three-set defeat to rising star Félix Auger-Aliassime was truly perplexing. Fed started out with his customary aplomb, but when he got to the second set, all the gas went out of the tank, with the Swiss tennis legend slumping his shoulders, looking out of sorts, feeling very negative, but worst of all, serving abysmally. And he’s one of the best servers the game has ever seen.

The shock of Federer’s downbeat performance comes after a promising clay court run at the French—his least successful surface—but also uncustomary controversy where the 20-time slam champion withdrew from his fourth-round match, prompting criticism that he was favoring Wimbledon over a full commitment to the French.

Now with his shock early exit at the Noventi Open—where he’s won the title a record number 10 times—Federer’s prospects at Wimbledon look dismal.

All of this leaves Novak Djokovic holding the bag for the sport. And Serena Williams. While a magical 24th would be the story of any slam the legendary WTA player enters, her chances of getting to that elusive number seem unlikely, to say the least.

Djokovic, however, is expected to take full advantage of his great rivals’ absence, as he continues to spoil the Fedal lovefest in his quest to eclipse Federer’s and Nadal’s records. If the 19-slam champ sweeps all four slams—as the reigning Australian and French Open champion—in a calendar year, and finally achieves his own Gold medal (Federer owns one in Doubles and a Silver in singles), he would obtain a herculean stat in tennis. He would also be the only male tennis player to hold that stat: the other individual who possesses the “Golden Slam” is Steffi Graf.

Despite Djokovic’s enormous achievements, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer—both tied with 20 slams—continue to retain  a reputation stature that excites more fans, sells more tickets, and continues to inspire a respect for the two legends affectionately referred to as Fedal.

Rivalries are what make the sport exciting. And with no big name at Wimbledon to challenge Djokovic or to emerge in the women’s game, the next major tournament looks like a dour affair.