Osaka pulls out of Stuttgart WTA - Japan Today

Japan's Naomi Osaka has pulled out of the clay-court WTA tournament in Stuttgart next monthtennisJapan's world number two Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from next month's WTA clay-court tournament in Stuttgart, organizers confirmed Wednesday.
"Naomi Osaka will now begin the European clay court season a little later in May," said the Stuttgart organizers in a statement.
Osaka won the first Grand Slam title of 2021 last month when she beat Jennifer Brady of the U.S. in the Australian Open final.
Despite Osaka's absence, seven of the world's top 10 female players are expected in Stuttgart, headed by world number one Ashleigh Barty of Australia.
As well as defending champion Petra Kvitova, top-ten stars Simona Halep, Sofia Kenin, Elina Svitolina, Aryna Sabalenka and 2018 Stuttgart winner Karolina Pliskova are also expected to be feature.

Published On: Wed, 24 Mar 2021 19:59:00 GMT