Osaka misses point of Wimbledon ban
FOUR-TIME major tennis nnis champ cham Naomi Osaka has said she is not sure she will play Wimbledon, saying that it is “pointless” without ranking points.
The ATP and WTA stripped the tournament of all ranking points after the famous west London club banned Russian and Belarusian players in support of Ukraine over Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
American-Japanese Osaka did not criticise the move but said earning points was a motivation.
“I feel like if I play Wimbledon without points, it’s more like an exhibition,” she complained.
“I know this isn’t true, right? But my brain just like feels that way. Whenever I think like something is like an exhibition, I just can’t go at it 100%.
“I didn’t even make my decision yet, but I’m leaning more towards not playing given the current circumstances.”
Osaka added: “I would love to go just to get some experience e on the grass court, but at a the same time, for me, it’s kind of – I don’t want to say pointless, no pun intended – but I’m the type of player that gets motivated by seeing my ranking go up, stuff like that.”
Pointless? Good grief. Ask anyone in the sport and they’ll say lifting the Wimbledon title is the pinnacle of the sport. So why care about ranking points?
Former world number one Osaka, 24, was speaking after her first-round defeat at the French Open on Monday.
The player is now 38th in the world rankings after taking several breaks from the sport last year to protect her mental health.
Osaka, who has never progressed past the third round at Wimbledon, was joined in her veiled criticism of the tournament by American John McEnroe.
The former Wimbledon winner said it was a mistake by organisers to ban players from Russia and Belarus, suggesting there should be a boycott by competitors who believe the same.
The three-times All England Club singles champion, known as one of the most controversial pundits in the sport, called out SW19 bosses, arguing against Tim Henman’s support for the ban.
Osaka’s stance begs the question, what actually do these players play for? Clearly not the title’s prestige or the £1.7 million prize money.
None of us remembers the greats for how many ranking points they won, but we do for their Grand Slam victories.
To strip Wimbledon of ranking points is a tone-deaf move by tennis associations when almost every other sport has banned Russian participants. The club should be applauded for having a moral compass. The only way I could possibly see an exception for any Russian sportsperson would be if they openly spoke out and condemned Putin in the media.
Surely Osaka should play Wimbledon to show her support for the people of Ukraine and put her own points gain to one side. She may, after all, find some “motivation” in that cause.
However, judging by her French Open performance, it’s not the points she needs to worry about.