Courtesy: Google

Courtesy: Google

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, who is a four-time Grand Slam champion, has bowed out of the Australian Open midway into her third round clash against Swiss opponent Belinda Bencic. The 27-year-old was apparently struggling with an abdominal injury during the first set at Melbourne Park, and after losing it in the tie-breaker to Belinda Bencic, she took the tough decision to retire injured from the match.

After Naomi Osaka took an early 4-1 lead in the first set over Belinda Bencic, she started experiencing problems with her stomach before calling for a physio when the scoreline was still in her favour at 6-5. Ultimately, Bencic forced a tie-break in the first set before winning it comfortably, to take the first set 7-6 before Osaka had to give up the match in order to preserve her health.

Osaka had to withdraw from Auckland Classic final earlier this month due to injury

Notably, Naomi Osaka had returned to the WTA Tour this time last year after taking a maternity leave to give birth to her daughter Shai in July 2023. The 2024 season of tennis at the Grand Slam level was quite a tough one for Osaka as she lost in the first round of the Australian Open last year, following which her campaigns at the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open ended in second rounds.

In the build-up to the Australian Open this year, Naomi Osaka had reached the final of the Auckland Classic, the first such appearance in three years, but it came to an end after she had to withdraw from the summit clash due to abdominal injury. Belinda Bencic was quite sympathic towards Osaka after their Australian Open third round match had to end on a sad note.

She remarked, “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.”