Defending champion Naomi Osaka knocked out of US Open in straight sets by Belinda Bencic

Out: Naomi Osaka has lost in straight sets to Belinda Bencic.
Getty Images
Joe Krishnan2 September 2019

Defending champion Naomi Osaka has been knocked out of the US Open after a straight sets defeat to Belinda Bencic.

The 21-year-old never quite took control of the match and was punished for some sloppy serving after being broken twice in the first set.

Bencic, who had beaten Osaka three times already this year, produced a flawless display to win 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 26 minutes at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The 22-year-old last reached the quarter-finals as a teenager in 2014 but showed a maturity on court which suggests she could challenge for a first Grand Slam title.

Osaka's attempts to add to her two Majors come to an abrupt end after a highly entertaining victory over 15-year-old sensation Coco Gauff on Saturday night.

In Pictures | 2019 US Open Tennis

1/120

Her defeat to Bencic comes at a heavy price ahead of the 2020 season too.

The Japanese star will lose her world number one status when the updated WTA world rankings are published on Monday.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in