PARIS: Naomi Osaka is leaning towards not playing Wimbledon, deeming the exercise 'pointless' to her scheme of things.
The ATP and WTA's decision to strip the grasscourt major of ranking points in response to the championship's call to ban Russian and Belarussian players from participating in the tournament has evoked mixed reactions from the player community.
"If I play Wimbledon without points, it's more like an exhibition. I know this isn't true, but my brain just feels that way. Whenever I think something is like an exhibition, I just can't go at it 100 percent," the Japanese superstar said.
"I haven't made my decision yet, but I'm leaning more towards not playing given the current circumstances," Osaka said, adding, "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."
"I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass, but at the same time, 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."
Osaka, whose ranking is down to 38 this week, underscored that No.1 is a big goal for her next year.
"Hopefully by the end of this year, if I keep working hard," she stressed. "I will get closer to where I want to go."
'No vote for player council'
Victoria Azarenka backed fellow WTA player council member Sloane Stephens, who threw her weight behind the Tours, who decided to strip ranking points from Wimbledon.
"There's a lot of things that people don't know that's happening behind the scenes. We tried everything to not let players be affected," the Belarussian, a former No.1, said. "The player council is available to any player that has questions."
The WTA Player Council --Stephens, Donna Vekic, Christina McHale, Kristina Mladenovic, Gaby Dabrowski Jessica Pegula and Azarenka – however have not voted on the decision taken by the Tours according to Azarenka, but appear to have provided guidance.
