Naomi Osaka has officially withdrawn from the bett1open grass court tournament next week in Berlin, an event she had intended to compete in as a warm-up before Wimbledon. Her absence reflects uncertainty about whether she will compete at Wimbledon this month. “We have received notification Naomi Osaka cannot start in Berlin,” the tournament organisers said. “After consulting her management, she will take a break.” Osaka has returned home to the US since she withdrew from the French Open last week due to the effect on her mental health following the firestorm around her decision not to conduct media duties at the tournament. It is believed she will decide whether or not to compete at Wimbledon in the coming days. Over the weekend, Osaka spoke for the first time since her withdrawal as she uploaded a short statement to her Instagram page expressing gratitude for the support she has received from her fans since she left Paris. “Just want to thank you for all the love,” Osaka wrote on her Instagram story. “Haven’t been on my phone much but I wanted to hop on here and tell you all that I really appreciate it.” Wimbledon is scheduled to begin on 28 June and the Tokyo Olympics follows four weeks later. As one of the most prominent international athletes, Osaka is one of the faces of the Games. Last week Sloane Stephens expressed her support for Osaka. “It’s unfortunate, because having to take a step back and say: ‘Hey, I need to do this for me,’ we should support her and applaud her, because a lot of people wouldn’t do that. A lot of people play through being miserable and being upset and not being able to speak out and say those things. “So I think instead of basically traumatising her and making fun of her situation, we should be more accepting and allow her to take the time she needs to work on herself and better herself so she can be in a better position to play tennis and be happy and enjoy her tennis.” On Monday the grass court season began in Nottingham. In the Nottingham WTA 250 tournament the British No 4, Francesca Jones, lost 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 against Georgina Garcia Perez and Harriet Dart, the British No 3, defeated her countrywoman Emma Raducanu. In the Nottingham ATP Challenger event, Dan Evans started his title defence by defeating Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5).