A persistent abdominal injury forced Naomi Osaka to retire during her third round match against Belinda Bencic at the 2025 Australian Open.

Belinda Bencic (No. 294) will take on Naomi Osaka (No. 51) in the Round of 32 at the Australian Open on Thursday, January 16.Osaka secured a three-set victory over Karolina Muchova (1-6, 6-1, 6-3)

Belinda Bencic returned to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open after Naomi Osaka was forced to retire with an injury in the third round.

Belinda Bencic gave a special signature on the camera with a heartfelt message after Naomi Osaka retired midway from her Round 3 match on Friday due to injury.

The abdominal injury that caused Naomi Osaka to retire from the Auckland final with a one-set lead over Clara Tauson less than two weeks ago struck again Friday, forcing the four-time major champion to cut a promising Australian Open short.

When Osaka struggled to lift her arm during the match, it became clear that she was struggling with another abdominal injury. It all began last Fall during her match against Coco Gauff in the China Open. An MRI revealed a bulged disc in her back and ruptured abdominal muscles.

Naomi Osaka was leading 5-2 against Belinda Bencic in the first set before an abdominal injury once again derailed her campaign. First, Osaka lost the first set and was later forced to withdraw from the Australian Open 2025.

In the Round of 16 at the Australian Open on Saturday, Belinda Bencic (ranked No. 294) faces Coco Gauff (No. 3).In her most recent match on Friday, Gauff knocked off Leylah Annie Fernandez in two

Eurosport expert Mats Wilander said it was "very sad" to see Naomi Osaka forced to retire from her third-round match at the Australian Open.

Naomi Osaka had just lost a first-set tiebreak 7-3 when she retired hurt from her second-round contest on Friday

Naomi Osaka withdrew from match against Belinda Bencic after her pain became unbearable in third round.On Friday at John Cain Arena, Melbourne the four-time Grand Slam champion was leading the opening set with 5-2 but started struggling