Melbourne, Jan 17 (IANS): Belinda Bencic progressed to the Round of 16 at the Australian Open after former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka retired from their third-round match due to injury.

Bencic claimed the first set 7-6 (3) before Osaka withdrew. Playing her first Grand Slam since giving birth to her daughter Bella, the 27-year-old Bencic is into her first Round of 16 at a major since the 2023 US Open.

Before leaving the court, Bencic signed the camera with a heartfelt message: "Get well soon, Mama".

The 2016 Olympic champion will face either World No. 3 Coco Gauff or Leylah Fernandez in the fourth round as she bids to make her first Grand Slam quarterfinal since the 2021 US Open.

In their first meeting since the 2022 Miami Open, Osaka started strong, building a 5-3 lead in the opening set. However, she began altering her service motion to manage apparent discomfort. Bencic broke back and held serve before Osaka took a medical timeout. Bencic then played a composed tiebreak, winning it 7-3 after 57 minutes.

Osaka, visibly struggling, walked to her chair before deciding to retire. The Japanese star had started her 2025 season by reaching the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland but retired in the final due to an abdominal injury. This marks Osaka’s third consecutive tournament retirement, following a back injury that ended her 2024 season at the China Open against Gauff.

Before the start of the tournament, Osaka had expressed confidence in playing the first-round match in the season-opener Grand Slam despite the scan result of an abdominal injury not being "fantastic."

"I’m normally a really honest person, but I probably won’t answer your question honestly. The MRI, it wasn’t fantastic, but it wasn’t bad at the same time. I’m pretty optimistic about playing my match. I mean, for sure I’m going to play my match, and I’ve been practising pretty well for the two days that I’ve been here,” Osaka had said before the start of the Australian Open.