MELBOURNE, Australia — Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka stopped playing because of a strained abdominal muscle after dropping the opening set of her third-round match against Belinda Bencic.

Naomi Osaka's run to a third Australian Open title was cut short on Friday, as a lingering injury caused her to retire from her third-round match against Belinda Bencic. Osaka, whose last Grand Slam win came in Melbourne in 2021,

Naomi Osaka retired from her Australian Open third round match on Friday. The Japanese tennis star had just lost the opening set to Belinda Bencic via a tiebreak (7-3) before pulling the plug. It marked the first time she had withdrawn from a grand slam tournament match in her career.