MELBOURNE, Australia — In a heart-wrenching turn of events, two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka had to retire from her third-round match against Belinda Bencic due to an injury after dropping the first set.
This marked Osaka’s first journey to the third round at a Grand Slam since 2022. She faced a turbulent few seasons with mental health breaks and was off the tour during her pregnancy, welcoming her daughter Shai in July 2023.
The year began on a promising note for Osaka, as she reached the final of the Auckland tournament on January 5, only to withdraw from the title match due to an abdominal issue.
In Friday’s match, while leading 6-5, Osaka called in a trainer who assessed her abdomen and provided her with medication before she returned to play.
Before the tiebreak commenced, she had a brief conversation with her coach Patrick Mouratoglou from the courtside box.
After Bencic clinched the opening set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (3), with Osaka making uncharacteristic errors, the chair umpire sadly announced the match’s premature conclusion due to injury, just 57 minutes in.
Following the conclusion, the two competitors shared a heartfelt embrace at the sideline before Osaka exited the court. She has previously triumphed at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, in addition to winning the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2020.
Bencic expressed her hopes for Osaka’s swift recovery, stating, “Hopefully she’ll be fine soon and be able to play the rest of the season.” Bencic herself claimed a singles gold medal for Switzerland at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
In a touching gesture, Bencic, also a new mother, drew a heart on a courtside camera lens and inscribed, “Get well soon Mama.”
Bencic’s next challenge will be against either the 2023 U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff or the 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, who were set to compete later that night.
“I’ll catch a bit of it, if I can,” Bencic mentioned, “but I plan to focus on my cooldown and recovery.”
Having made her comeback just last October after welcoming her first child, Bencic is yet to surpass the fourth round in her 11 previous appearances at Melbourne Park, having faced defeat at that stage last year against two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka.