Julius OkorieTwo-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka was forced by injury to retire in the third round in her tie against Belinda Bencic of Switzerland in Melbourne on Friday.
The-time Grand Slam winner needed medical attention at 6-5 in a first set which she went on to lose on a tiebreak to her Swiss opponent, before shaking hands and leaving the court.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelOsaka had a troubled build-up to the first Grand Slam of the year, retiring from the final in Auckland with an abdominal injury.
The Japanese star who revealed last week that she and her rapper boyfriend Cordae, the father of her daughter Shai, had split up, had arrived Melbourne in confident mood, sayint that her injury was improving
“I’m pretty optimistic about playing my match. I mean, for sure I’m going to play my match,” she had enthused before the start of the tournament.
READ ALSO:New Year Shocker: Naomi Osaka, Cordae Part Ways
Despite her early exit, she still had something to cheer about as she reached the third round of a Slam for the first time since the birth of Shai with fine wins over Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova before injury truncated Bencic hurdle. The two previous games went to three sets at Melbourne Park and may have taken a toll.
Osaka led 5-2 in the first set against Bencic before becoming hampered on her serve and in her movement, allowing Tokyo Olympic champion Bencic to draw level and take it to a tie break, which she won 7-3. Osaka could not continue and left John Cain Arena waving to fans.
“It’s not the way you want this match to end. I thought it was getting to be a good match,” Bencic said.
“Hopefully she will be fine soon and can play well for the rest of this year.”
Bencic will face either American third seed Coco Gauff or Canada’s Leylah Fernandez in the fourth round.
Osaka started her 2025 season at the Auckland Open, where she reached the final but retired due to an abdominal injury after winning the first set against 5th-seeded Clara Tauson.
In one of the men’s clashes, Novak Djokovic zoomed into the fourth round after brushing aside Thomas Machac 6-1 6-4 6-4. He will next face Czech star Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
