Naomi Osaka returned to action in January 2024 after having spent more than 15 months away from the sport. Shortly after returning to action, she spoke about how motherhood has helped her see life in a “different way.” Apart from witnessing a transition in the racket sport, Osaka said she watched other mothers and “how their returns have unfolded.” She can now relate their journey with her own and guess what? We are set to witness a clash between two tennis moms in the third round of the 2025 AO!

The 2-time Australian Open champion has now reached the third round of a major event for the first time as a mother! She defeated Karolina Muchova in the second round and now, Naomi Osaka is all set to face the Swiss Belinda Bencic in the third round. Shortly after clinching his hard-fought victory against Muchova, the Japanese star said that she’s happy to get a “little revenge” over the Czech following her disappointing loss in their previous encounter at the 2024 US Open. What did Naomi Osaka say about her next opponent, though?

Well, for those who are unaware, in April 2024, Belinda Bencic and her partner, Martin Hromkovic, who is also her fitness coach, welcomed their daughter Bella into the world. So, even Bencic had to stay out of action for a while! However, she’s entering this contest following her impressive victory against Jelena Ostapenko and Suzan Lamens in the first two rounds. What did Naomi Osaka say about this Swiss opponent in her post-match press conference, though?

In the press conference, she was asked to share her thoughts on the occasion of two tennis moms taking on each other. Did Osaka get any chance to catch up with Belinda Bencic ahead of this epic encounter? Well, in reply to all these questions, Osaka responded, “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.” After that, she also added, “I haven’t caught up with her because I haven’t seen her.”

Naomi Osaka and Belinda Bencic have faced each other five times in their careers so far and currently, Bencic leads the H2H record by 3-2! What does Osaka think of this challenge that lies ahead of her in the third round? “I know she’s an incredibly tough player. She fights a lot,” said the former world number one. Further speaking about their relationship off the court, Naomi Osaka added, “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.” What really motivated these two tennis stars to make a comeback, though?

Naomi Osaka and Belinda Bencic reveal what really motivated them to make this incredible comeback

In April 2024, Naomi Osaka appeared in Hana Kuma’s YouTube series GOOD TROUBLE with Nick Kyrgios. During that time, she revealed that she wanted to prolong her tennis career until her daughter Shai became more aware of the world around her. She said, “I think this time away from the game made me realize I’m not gonna be playing for the next 20 years. I’ve been playing tennis since I was three, so I want to treasure it as long as I can. And I also want to play long enough for [my daughter] Shai to see me play.”

All she wants now is to show Shai that she’s capable of “everything.” That’s perhaps one of the main reasons why she wants to make this comeback. On the other hand, Belinda Bencic revealed that she was heavily inspired seeing how some of her Tour colleagues have been traveling from tournament to tournament with children in recent years. “I often see Tatjana Maria at the tournaments with two children. It’s really great how they manage it as a family and it’s very inspiring,” said the Swiss. She also mentioned another name, “I also talked to Angelique a bit about how she managed it all and it’s super nice to see.”

Now, since she has made the comeback, does Bencic think she can offer her best tennis yet again in the next few years? “One hundred percent. I really believe that. Because I feel like it’s not impossible to come back and play at least at the level I played before. I really feel like I’m still young. I feel confident I still have a lot of good years ahead of me. I’m not coming back just to be an average player, I want to go and have more success,” she said.

Belinda Bencic says she still has a goal to be one of the world’s best! Can she achieve that goal? Time will tell! Nevertheless, who is your pick in this epic battle of two tennis moms at the 2025 AO?