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.

Novak Djokovic, Coco Gauff roll to Australian Open's 4th round. Naomi Osaka retires due to injury and Jessica Pegula was upset in the third round.

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

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 explained why she retired from her match at the Australian Open and how her abdominal injury keeps recurring.

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

A four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka returned from maternity leave last year and lost in the first or second round of all four major tournaments. The 27-year-old Japan native has not won any event on the WTA Tour since capturing her second Australian Open title to start 2021.

Belinda Bencic (No. 294) will take on Naomi Osaka (No. 51) in the Round of 32 at the Australian Open on Thursday, January 16.Osaka secured a three-set victory over Karolina Muchova (1-6, 6-1, 6-3)

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.

Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus owns the longest Australian Open women's singles winning streak in more than a decade after advancing out of the third round on Friday in Melbourne. Sabalenka got past Denmark's Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 6-4 in 2 hours, 6 minutes.