Japanese star Naomi Osaka sensationally quits mid match as injury ends her Australian Open

MELBOURNE: Another abdominal injury has cut short Naomi Osaka's Australian Open campaign, with the former world No.1 stating she did everything she could to manage the injury.

The four-time grand slam champion appeared visibly distressed in the final stages of the first set, ultimately making the difficult decision to retire from her match against Belinda Bencic at John Cain Arena.

In a post-match press conference, Osaka revealed she had been feeling significant pain following her win earlier in the week but was determined to give her best effort in the third-round clash.

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The 27-year-old said she had suffered from abdominal injuries since she was young.

"Honestly I have a history of it and at least once a year I'd get an ab strain," she said.

Osaka said her injury was quite "hectic to manage".

"I was going to therapy every day and into the night. The days have been very long for me and obviously, after my last match it got way worse," she said.

"So credit to her for being such a good opponent.

"It was just a little inevitable but the competitor in me just wanted to see it through until the end."

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Osaka suffered an apparent abdominal injury earlier this month while playing the final of a WTA tournament in Auckland.

Osaka had won the first set of the final 6-4 against Denmark's Clara Tauson before she made the tough decision to withdraw.

The nature of her injury wasn't immediately clear but seemed to be abdominal, rather than a further setback to the back injury she suffered at the China Open in October which ended her 2024 season.

Leading into the Australian Open, the Japanese star faced a tough draw but managed to come off on top following a three-set battle against world No.20 Karolína Muchová in her second-round clash.

"If I could have served, I could have potentially won and I could have potentially gotten far in the tournament," she said.

"I was in the final of Auckland too and it sucks because I also think I could have won that tournament and it could have been my first tournament win back.

"I think I played really well today regardless of the fact I was injured. It was really fun to play such a close battle and I thought the points were fun while I was playing them."

Trouble became evident for the Japanese star at 5-5 when she started to struggle with her serving motion.

Although Osaka managed to hold her serve, the trainer was called to the court during the change of ends.

She returned shortly afterwards and fought hard for the remainder of the first set, before forcing a tiebreaker.

Bencic gained the mini-break, and that's when the unforced errors began to pile up for the Japanese champion.

The Swiss player ultimately won the battle 7-3 to claim the first set.

Appearing to still be in discomfort, Osaka decided to pull out of the match during the break between sets.

It was an abrupt end to a match that had shown enormous promise, with Osaka leading 5-2 before things began to unravel for her.

Speaking on court, Bencic expressed her sympathy for Osaka, saying she really felt for her.

"I saw her struggling a bit at the end of the set. It's not the way you want the match to end," she said.

"I thought it was getting to be a good match.

"Hopefully she'll be fine soon and can play well for the rest of the season."

Osaka was quick to leave the court, but not before a devoted fan gifted her a bracelet.