The Auckland tragedy returns for Naomi Osaka yet again! Watching her persevere strongly against Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova in the first and second rounds of the Australian Open respectively, hope began to rise for the Japanese tennis star. However, in the third round against Belinda Bencic, Osaka unfortunately laid her racquet down and ended her run due to the same injury she faced in the finals in Auckland.

Naomi Osaka struggled during the third-round match against Bencic, but she still tried to battle through the visible discomfort. Osaka had to call her physio during the match, and the hushed murmurs amongst the crowd worried about the same ASB Classic final’s fate. Unfortunately, the result was something that we all feared. The abdominal injury took over, and Osaka had to walk over from the match after battling through a close tie-break in the first set.

During the ASB Classic, the Japanese tennis star was facing Clara Tauson in the finals. However, her abdominal injury caused a hurdle that Osaka was not able to get over. Eventually, she had to retire from a final match. Similarly, in the third round of the Australian Open, Bencic took the first set, but Osaka managed to put up a strong fight, as evident by the 7-6(3) score. However, she failed to continue putting up a worthy battle against her opponent due to her abdominal injury and had to retire post the first set.

Naomi Osaka packed her bags solemnly alongside a cheering crowd, hoping for a quick recovery for the two-time Australian Open champion. However, it was not just the crowd that hailed Osaka’s efforts. It was a match between two iconic tennis moms, and Bencic took a moment to wish her opponent a quick recovery.

Three-worded tribute from one tennis mom to another 

Though a disheartening end to Osaka’s Australian Open run, Bencic has moved forward to the fourth round. However, such victories are not always sweet, especially when it’s against someone you relate to.

Bencic, a tennis mother herself, put out a message for Osaka paying an ode to her efforts. After the declaration of her win, she moved to the camera, and attributed a heartfelt three-worded “Get well soon, Mama” message to Naomi Osaka. Despite equalizing her best result at Melbourne, Bencic looked a bit down during her post-match conference.

Bencic talked about the unhappy win and said, “Not the way you want to win the match. I really felt for her. I have been injured before. So, I know how it feels.” Despite the unfortunate loss, the camaraderie of the two players was evident both on and off the court.

Moving on, in the long run, the developments around Osaka’s injuries are concerning. The main concern is whether she will be able to battle this injury and ace the court once again. Or is this the beginning of a new end?