Naomi Osaka will not be a part of the charity match she was set to play against Emma Raducanu at the Australian Open 2024. The 26-year-old pulled out of the contest as a precautionary measure before she plays in the main draw of the hard court tournament at the Rod Laver Arena.

In place of Osaka, World No.25 Donna Vekic will face Raducanu, also the 2021 US Open champion, in the charity match. The 27-year-old Vekic recently represented Croatia in the United Cup where she defeated Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands and Malene Helge of Norway.

As far as Osaka is concerned, she recently made her comeback to competitive tennis after a gap of 15 months. The four-time Grand Slam singles champion played in the Brisbane International where she defeated Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6 at the Pat Rafter Arena to mark her return to her favourite sport.

Thereafter, Osaka, who has 2 Australian Open singles titles to her name, fought hard against Karolina Pliskova in a thrilling 3-setter. However, she lost the match 6-3, 6-7, 4-6.

Last year, in January, Osaka announced that she was set to embrace parenthood and in July, she became a mother to daughter Shai.

Before the Brisbane International, Osaka said that she was staging a comeback to inspire her daughter.

“Being a mum has changed my life a lot. I think it changed my perspective on a lot of things. Giving birth was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through. It’s definitely made me feel like I can physically handle a lot.

“I want to show Shai that she’s capable of everything, so that’s one of my main purposes and main reasons why I want to be back out here,” Osaka was quoted as saying.

Osaka, earlier, entered the Australian Open main draw on the basis of a special ranking. Osaka, also a former World No.1, is currently ranked No.833 in the world.