MELBOURNE, Australia — Two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from her third-round match against Australian qualifier Madison Inglis due to a left abdominal injury, in a decision she said “breaks my heart.”
“I’ve had to make the difficult decision to withdraw to address something my body needs attention for after my last match,” Osaka wrote in a statement on social media.
“I was so excited to keep going and this run meant the most to me, so having to stop here breaks my heart, but I can’t risk doing any further damage so I can get back on court.
“Thanks for all the love and support … I’m so grateful everyone embraced me so much.”
Osaka required a medical timeout during her second-round win over Sorana Cîrstea, which she won in three sets. In a news conference afterward, she said that anyone who looked at her injury history could surmise what the issue was. Osaka, a four-time major winner currently ranked No. 17, managed an abdominal issue throughout 2025. At the Australian Open 12 months ago, it forced her to retire after the first set of a third-round match against Belinda Bencic.
Osaka’s match ended in a tense handshake after Cîrstea told Osaka she did not know fair play. During her on-court interview, Osaka said that “a lot of come ons she (Cîrstea) wasn’t happy with” had helped her beat Cîrstea, but later apologized for “disrespecting her opponent” in her news conference.
Osaka’s walk-on outfit for her first-round win over Antonia Ružić provided one of the highlights of the tournament, as the former world No. 1 entered wearing a white veil and hat with a parasol, before revealing a blue-and-green dress with cascading ruffles. The dress and outfit were inspired by her daughter Shai’s love of jellyfish, while some details in the accessories, designed by couturier Robert Wun, referenced a butterfly landing on Osaka’s face at the 2021 Australian Open.
Inglis will play either No. 2 seed Iga Świątek in the fourth round, after she beat Anna Kalinskaya, the No. 31 seed, 6-1, 1-6, 6-1.
