Belinda Bencic will face either Coco Gauff or Leylah Fernandez in the third round on her return to Grand Slam action at the Australian Open. Albeit it was in unfortunate circumstances as Naomi Osaka had to retire injured from their tie.
Naomi Osaka’s second-round match at the Australian Open could not possibly have started in a worse way. All of 21 minutes in,
Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka said "it sucks" after retiring Friday with a stomach muscle injury during her third-round match against Belinda Bencic in Melbourne.
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.
For the second time in the 2025 season, Coco Gauff defeated Leylah Fernandez in straight sets to reach the Australian Open fourth round.
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.
Naomi Osaka, ranked just No. 51 in the world after a disappointing 2024 season, shook off a slow start en route to a second-round upset win in the Australian Open on Wednesday.
Much like the second-rounder between Emma Raducanu and Amanda Anisimova, this will be a battle between two sneaky-young veterans—Coco is still just 20, Leylah 22. In one of those pro-tour quirks, they had never played until United Cup; now they’ll meet twice in three weeks.
MELBOURNE, Australia -- Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka stopped playing ... champion Coco Gauff or 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, who were scheduled to face each other ...
MELBOURNE, Australia — Naomi Osaka's second-round match at ... No. 14 Mirra Andreeva and No. 30 Leylah Fernandez. Gauff, the 2023 U.S. Open champion who has won all seven matches she's played ...