Tennis supermoms, Naomi Osaka and Belinda Bencic are all set to meet in the third round of the 2025 Australian Open. Both these players were out of action for a while. Naomi Osaka returned to the court in January 2024 after having spent more than 15 months away from the sport. On the other hand, Bencic made a comeback in October 2024, at an ITF event in Hamburg, six months after giving birth to her daughter. Neither of these players is seeded, but don’t let that fool you! Naomi Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion (two of them came at the AO), while Belinda Bencic is an Olympic gold medalist. What are the fans saying ahead of this heavy-weight clash, though?

Well, both of these players have a bitter history in the past. We’ve seen a few controversies surrounding both these tennis stars. Osaka and Bencic were never really that close! This is what really adds an extra flavor to this epic encounter where both these tennis moms will be trying to give their all to move into the next round.

In a recent press conference, Naomi Osaka was asked to share thoughts about the match between two tennis moms. What did she say, in reply to that question? “It probably adds extra stuff for you guys. Not necessarily for me. I think we’re labeled ‘moms’ of course. I think when you go on the tennis court, you just think of yourself as a tennis player, first of all,” she said to the journalist.

Interestingly, both these players are 27 years old but Naomi Osaka has been on the tour for one year longer. Previously, while sharing her thoughts about facing players of her age, Naomi Osaka said, “I get really emotional when I play people around my age or younger. I don’t know if it’s like this thing that I want to be better than them, but I just automatically put a lot of pressure on myself.” Talking about pressure, well the fans have already started to set the stage for this epic battle at the John Cain Arena. The hype is for real! What are the fans saying about this match on social media?

Insane drama on social media surrounding Naomi Osaka’s match against Belinda Bencic in the R3 of the 2025 AO

Well, talking about drama, do you know that shortly after Naomi Osaka’s second-round win against Karolina Muchova, Naomi Osaka was asked to share her thoughts about her next match? In reply to this question, the Japanese star was seen struggling a bit to find words. She said, “I’m so sorry, the match I just played took so much out of me that I can’t even think about the next match I’m going to play. If I had to think about it, I don’t remember the year we played our last match together. Someone would have to tell me, but I know she’s an incredibly tough player. She fights a lot.“

And to remind her further, this will be her fifth meeting with the Swiss. Their previous meeting was in the SF of the 2022 Miami Open, where Osaka took her revenge over Bencic following a disappointing R16 defeat to her at the 2019 US Open. Talking about “revenge,” well, she recently claimed that she had gained a “little revenge” after producing an incredible fightback in her previous match against Muchova. Highlighting all these, a fan tweeted, “Revenge tour continues with Bencic next. I’m so proud of her.”

Can Naomi Osaka pull one back in her favor and level things at 3-3 in their H2H record? Another fan highlighted the stat and tweeted, “They didn’t actually play last year but Bencic got her 3 times in 2019! Definitely a nemesis.” Speaking about her chances against Naomi Osaka, Bencic said, “It’s going to be a fun match, I feel prepared to face her. Hopefully, we’ll play on a significant court. I have a good record against her, but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s great to have the opportunity to play such a match.“

Another fan highlighted the scorecard of their previous encounter in Miami. Naomi Osaka won that SF match by 4-6,6-3,6-4 and what a comeback it was! The fan showered a few words of encouragement for the Japanese by saying, “Naomi Osaka remember who you are.” Naomi Osaka entered this mega event following his incredible performance at the 2025 ASB Classic. She reached the final over there. How far can she go at the 2025 AO?

One of her fans went a step ahead and wrote, “She got Bencic next? I want Naomi to stomp her a-s out. I hope she hasn’t forgotten those comments Bencic made in 2020 about her masks..” Both these players have stirred a fair bit of controversy in the past. This fan highlighted one incident from 2020, while another one took place a year later at the French Open. During the 2021 French Open, Naomi Osaka created quite a commotion in the tennis world after refusing to take part in the post-match press conference, and guess what?

Belinda Bencic gave a reaction to that incident saying, “I respect Naomi’s decision. But media is part of the job and it contributes to the worldwide publicity we have and we get paid very well. Naomi does a lot of good things. On the other hand, I feel like sometimes it’s just about to remain in the talk.” Her comments on Osaka raised a few eyebrows in the tennis world at that time, but how is now the relationship between them?

Speaking on that in the recent interview Naomi Osaka said, “I don’t want to say I’ve grown up with her, but we’ve definitely seen each other on tour. It’s really cool that she also had a baby, and she came back as well. She seems to be doing really good. So yeah, I think it’s going to be fun.” Did she give her any advice after making a comeback to the court as a mother?

“Oh, she doesn’t want advice from me, I promise…No, I haven’t really bumped into her. It’s weird when you’re at a Slam. You don’t really see people when you expect them but I guess I’ll see her on the other side of the court,” said Naomi Osaka. A fan highlighted these comments from Osaka and tweeted, “They asked Naomi if she gave Bencic any advice about returning back as a mother and Naomi emphatically replied ‘I don’t think she’d want my advice.’ while smiling. The interviewer was either messy or didn’t know that they dislike one another.” Who do you think will win this epic battle between two tennis moms? Share your thoughts in the comment box.