Naomi Osaka ’s return to Grand Slam competition ended prematurely on Friday, as the two-time Australian Open champion was forced to retire from her third-round match against Belinda Bencic due to a strained abdominal muscle. Osaka had dropped the opening set in a tiebreaker, 7-6 (3), before informing the chair umpire she could no longer continue.

Naomi Osaka’s second-round match at the Australian Open could not possibly have started in a worse way. All of 21 minutes in,

The 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Karolina Muchova allowed Osaka to reach the third round at a major tournament for the first time since the 2022 season.

Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka has stopped playing because of an injury after dropping the opening set of her third-round match against Belinda Bencic

Naomi Osaka retired from her Australian Open third round match on Friday.