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.

Aryna Sabalenka full of praise for Clara Tauson after beating her in Melbourne - The defending champion came through 7-6 (5) 6-4 but Naomi Osaka pulled out of her match through 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.

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.

A lingering abdominal injury first sidelined her in October at a Beijing tournament match against Coco Gauff. She reached the finals of the 2025 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this month, but retired during her match against Clara Tauson. Osaka says abdominal injuries are nothing new.

The top seed is probably happy with her decision, because now she has to go up against Andreeva again, in a much bigger event. The last time these two played at a Slam, at Roland Garros in 2024, Andreeva pulled off an upset in three close sets.

Coco Gauff rallied from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic 5-7 6-2 6-1 on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and extend her winning streak from the start of the season to nine matches.

Sabalenka's fourth-round challenge will be the 14th seed Mirra Andreeva, who she leads 3-1 in head-to-head record. Andreeva secured her first win against Sabalenka at the French Open quarterfinals last year.

Osaka was leading 5-2 and pushing Bencic all across the court ... She was a set up against Clara Tauson in Auckland when the injury forced her to retire. Scans on the injury were “not great ...

She reached the finals of the 2025 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand earlier this month, but retired during her match against Clara Tauson. Osaka says abdominal injuries are nothing new.

Coco Gauff rallied from a set down to beat Belinda Bencic 5-7 6-2 6-1 on Sunday to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open and extend her winning streak from the start of the season to nine matches.

Naomi Osaka of Japan made a disappointing exit from the ongoing Australian Open. She retired from her third-round match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic due to an unfortunate abdominal injury.