MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka stopped playing due to injury after losing the first set of her third-round match against Belinda Bencic on Friday.
This was Osaka's first trip to the third round of a major tournament since 2022. She missed time in recent seasons due to mental health issues and then had to cancel the tour while pregnant. Their daughter Shai was born in July 2023.
Osaka began this season by reaching the final of a tournament in Auckland, New Zealand, on Jan. 5, but was forced to withdraw from the title game there due to an abdominal injury.
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“At this moment I only feel for Naomi,” Bencic said in her on-pitch interview. “I saw she was struggling a little bit at the end of the set. Obviously it’s not how you would have wanted the game to end.”
On Friday, Osaka – a former No. 1 player who owns four Grand Slam titles – was visited by a coach during transition while she led 6-5. The coach examined Osaka's abdominal area and gave her a pill to take and play could continue.
Shortly before the tiebreaker began, Osaka went to the coaching box on the sidelines and briefly chatted with Patrick Mouratoglou.
After Bencic won this set 7-6 (3) in the tiebreak and took four of the last five points through unforced errors from Osaka, the referee announced that the game was over after 57 minutes “due to an injury”.
The two players hugged on the sideline and Osaka left the field. She won the 2019 and 2021 Australian Open and the 2018 and 2020 US Open.
“Hopefully she will get well soon and can play the rest of the season,” said Bencic, who won an individual gold medal for Switzerland at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Bencic, who is also a mother, drew a heart on the lens of a pitchside television camera and wrote: “Get well soon, mom.”
Next up for Bencic is a fourth-round match against 2023 US Open champion Coco Gauff or 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, who competed against each other on Friday evening.
“I'll watch a little bit if I can,” Bencic said, “but I think I'll keep my cooldown and try to focus on my recovery.”
Bencic, who returned to action in October after giving birth to her first baby, has never progressed past the fourth round in her 11 previous appearances at Melbourne Park. At this point, she lost to two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka a year ago.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
