Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka stopped playing due to an abdominal strain after dropping the first set in the third round against Belinda Bencic on Friday.
“I've had a history of that since I was a teenager. I tighten my abs at least once a year. “For me, I would say my serve is like that. It's pretty explosive,” Osaka said. explained that she was injured in a tournament in Beijing and withdrew from her match against Coco Gauff on October 1st. , which lasted until the beginning of this season. ”
It was the first time since 2022 that Osaka reached the third round of a major tournament. She missed the last few seasons due to mental health issues and then left the tour while pregnant.
Their daughter, Shai, was born in July 2023.
Osaka started 2025 by reaching the finals of a tournament in Auckland, New Zealand on January 5, but withdrew from playing in the title match there due to an abdominal injury.
And she said the problem got “even worse” after her second-round win against 2023 French Open finalist Karolina Muchova in Melbourne on Wednesday.
“I think it was a little inevitable, but I think the competitor in me just wanted to go all the way,” Osaka said. “I just hope I can figure it out and find a way to get healthy in time,” she added before her tour heads to events in Indian Wells and Miami in March.
On Friday, Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam titleholder and former No. 1 ranked player, was visited by a trainer midway through a match when she was leading 6-5. A trainer examined Osaka's abdomen, gave her medication to take, and play resumed.
Just before the tiebreak began, Osaka went to the courtside coach's box and chatted briefly with Patrick Mouratoglou.
Bencic went to a tiebreak with the score at 7-6 (3) and the referee called the game over in the 57th minute “due to injury” after claiming that Osaka's unforced error cost him four of the final five points. I told him.
Both players embraced on the sideline, and Osaka left the court. She won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021 and the US Open in 2018 and 2020.
“I hope she gets better soon and can play the rest of the season,” said Bencic, who won singles gold with Switzerland at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Bencic, who is also a mother, drew a heart on the lens of a courtside television camera and wrote, “Get well soon, Mom.”
Bencic's next match will be a fourth-round match against 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff, who was scheduled to play Friday night, or 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leila Fernandez.
“I'm going to wait and see if I can, but I'm going to cool down and focus on my recovery,” Bencic said.
Bencic, who returned to action last October after giving birth to her first child, has never made it past the fourth round in her past 11 appearances at Melbourne Park.
She lost to two-time winner Aryna Sabalenka at that stage a year ago.
