BRISBANE, Australia, Jan 17 – 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, who beat Canada’s Leylah Fernandez later on Friday.
Sabalenka ‘pushes to the limit’ to progress
Earlier on Friday, top seed Aryna Sabalenka continued her bid for a third consecutive Australian Open title with victory over Denmark’s Clara Tauson.
The 26-year-old Belarusian was made to work for her 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win on Rod Laver Arena but secured victory in two hours and six minutes to progress to the fourth round.
There were 11 breaks of serve in a match of rapidly shifting momentum at Melbourne Park.
“That was a great battle,” said Sabalenka. “She played unbelievable tennis. It was really tough to play against her today.
“I’m just super happy that I was able to just stay in the game and I was able to push myself, honestly, to the limit to get this win.”
Despite three tough matches, Sabalenka progresses to the second week at Melbourne Park having not dropped a set and with a 30th victory in 31 matches in hard-court Slams since the start of 2023.
Sabalenka will face 17-year-old 14th seed Mirra Andreeva in the next round, who earned a hard-fought 6-2 1-6 6-2 victory over Poland’s Magdalena Frech.
Gauff claimed a more straightforward victory, moving past 30th seed Leylah Fernandez with a 6-4 6-2 win in 76 minutes.
The world number three, who reached the semi-finals in Melbourne last year, improved as the match went, stamping out unforced errors as she clinched three successive breaks at the start of the second set.
Asked what keeps her grounded during Grand Slams, 20-year-old Gauff replied: “The people that I meet every single day make me realise that tennis feels such high stakes but it’s really not.
“I’m so lucky to be able to do what I do, get paid well by doing it and be able to use my platform to give back to others. I’m very grateful.”
