Naomi Osaka is officially withdrawing from the Billie Jean King Cup

On Tuesday morning, tournament organizers confirmed that Naomi Osaka has been eliminated from the 2024 Billie Jean King Cup final. The BJK Cup is the world's largest annual international team sports competition for women.

While the WTA does not award points for participants or winners of the tournament, it still gives players the opportunity to represent their country. It would have given Osaka another chance to highlight her home country of Japan.

The disappointing news comes as Osaka missed most of the Asian swing of the WTA schedule. Her match against Coco Gauff had to be canceled due to a back injury. As a sign of her sportsmanship, Gauff helped Osaka carry her luggage off the field.

Earlier this month, Osaka told reporters that she underwent an MRI scan in Beijing and the results showed a bulging disc and a rupture of the abdominal muscles. She added: “I have played so many tournaments this year, so not playing this and BJK was the hardest decision.”

The 27-year-old made a big comeback after missing the game through injury and all of last season on maternity leave. Osaka is currently No. 59 in the WTA world rankings with a record of 22-17 and zero singles titles.

At the end of September, Osaka fired her coach Wim Fissette. The two worked together for four years and won two Grand Slam titles. She quickly hired Serena Williams' former coach, Patrick Mourtatoglu.

Additionally, Osaka continues to inspire by promoting girls' sports at a Nike event in Japan this month. She also made headlines for promoting body positivity among mothers.

The four-time Grand Slam champion begins preparing for the 2025 WTA season, starting with the Australian Open, which she won in 2019 and 2021. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated broadcasts Serve on SI for all important sports news.