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.

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.

At her peak, the four-time Grand Slam champion played her best tennis in the toughest moments. In Melbourne, she did it again.

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Down 5-0 in the first set, the former No. 1 player beats Karolina Muchova in three sets to make a Grand Slam third round for the first time in three years

Naomi Osaka, with LA wildfires on her mind, called her 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win against Caroline Garcia in the Australian Open first round “an acceptable job.”

Naomi Osaka beat Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 at the Australian Open, reaching the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time since her return from maternity leave.

In the Australian Open Round of 64 on Tuesday, we have a matchup featuring No. 51-ranked Naomi Osaka versus No. 20 Karolina Muchova.Muchova’s last competition was a win, 6-1, 6-3, over

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

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.

Bencic felt for Osaka after the injured Japanese was forced to retire their Australian Open third-round match.