Naomi Osaka will be allowed to play at the Paris 2024 Olympics

The former world’s number one Naomi Osaka (Japan) will be able to participate in the tennis tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics, which will be held from July 27 to August 4.

“I’ll be happy to play if they let me”, said the four-time Grand Slam champion on April 13 in Tokyo.

Naomi Osaka, 26, lit the Olympic flame at the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, where she was eliminated in the third round of the tournament.

The Japanese was off the courts from the end of 2022 for 15 months, which was a period in which she gave birth to a child. Naomi Osaka has been back in racing mode since the month of January. She was outside the Top 800 in the WTA rankings, but is now ranked 125th.

Despite her low position in the world tennis rankings, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) allowed the Japanese player to play in the Olympics because of the protected ranking rule, which benefits players who have been out of tennis for a long time for various reasons, as well as in their capacity of a Grand Slam champion.