WATCH: Coco Gauff helps Naomi Osaka carry her things off the court after Japanese retires with injury in China Open clash

In a heartwarming moment at the 2024 China Open, Coco Gauff helped Naomi Osaka carry her things off the court after the latter was forced to retire with an injury midway through their battle. The scores were level at one set apiece in the fourth-round clash before a lower back injury prevented Osaka from carrying on.

On Tuesday, Gauff and Osaka met for the fifth time on the WTA Tour. Their head-to-head was tied at 2-2, with their last encounter going in favor of the American. Under the lights in Beijing, however, it was Osaka who started strong, taking the opening set 6-3.

In the second set, the World No. 5 found her level and put up more of a fight, taking it 6-4. With things getting heated ahead of the deciding set, unfortunately, Naomi Osaka had to throw in the towel. Visibly in pain during the later half of the second set, the Japanese decided it was best to call it a day instead of exacerbating the injury even further.

After she communicated the same to the umpire and confirmed her retirement, the former World No. 1 exchanged a brief conversation with Gauff, who initially appeared taken aback by the sudden end to a captivating encounter.

Then, in a spontaneous moment of sportsmanship that is bound to earn the American some fans, Gauff lifted Osaka's tennis bag to her shoulders and offered to walk her off the court just as the Chinese fans drowned the duo in warm applause.

Following the injury, it remains to be seen whether Naomi Osaka will show up at her next scheduled stop on the WTA Tour -- her home tournament at the Japan Open.

Coco Gauff takes on Yulia Starodubtsewa in China Open QF next

Following her win against Naomi Osaka in the fourth round, Coco Gauff will take on Ukraine's Yulia Starodubtsewa in the quarterfinals of the 2024 China Open up next. The qualifier has been on a tear at the WTA 1000 tournament, having already taken out two seeded players along the way (Katerina Siniakova and Anna Kalinskaya).

A win against Starodubtsewa would pit the American against either Paula Badosa or Zhang Shuai in the semifinals. Meanwhile, top seed and World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka is in prime position to reach the final from the top half of the draw.