Osaka says not sure if she’ll play on grass this season

Tennis player Naomi Osaka said on Monday she was not sure if she would play on grass this season, after the sport’s authorities stripped Wimbledon of its ranking points over the tournament’s decision to exclude players from Russia and Belarus over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“I would say like the decision is kind of affecting, like, my mentality going into grass, like I’m not 100% sure if I’m going to go there,” the Japanese, a four-time Grand Slam winner, told a news conference after a first-round loss at the French Open.

“I would love to go just to get some experience on the grass court, but like at the same time, for me, it’s kind of like – 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.”