Two-time champion Naomi Osaka is out of the Australian Open after she was forced to retire injured from her third-round match against Belinda Bencic.
Japan’s Osaka was playing in the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time since returning from maternity leave last year.
The four-time major winner stormed to a 4-1 lead in the first set before appearing to struggle with an abdominal injury, calling for the physio at 6-5.
Osaka continued to suffer as Bencic dominated the tie-break and the 27-year-old decided to call it a day before the start of the second set. “I really feel for Naomi. I saw her struggling a bit in the end of the set. It’s not the way you want the match to end,” former Olympic champion Bencic said.
Osaka gave birth to daughter Shai in July 2023 and returned to the WTA Tour six months later.
She lost in the first round on her Slam return at the Australian Open last year, before exiting in the second round at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows.
However, Osaka had impressed at Melbourne Park this week, beating France’s Caroline Garcia in three sets in her opening match before overcoming 20th seed Karolina Muchova in just under two hours.
In the build-up to the Australian Open, she had retired from the final of the Auckland Classic – her first WTA Final for three years – with an abdominal injury.
Switzerland’s Bencic, who is playing her first major since giving birth to daughter Bella in April 2024, will face third seed Coco Gauff or Canada’s Leylah Fernandez next.
(BBC sport)
