Naomi Osaka latest coaching move might have some scratching their heads
By Lee Vowell
Naomi Osaka is still trying to work her way back into the top form she had several years ago. She is only 26 years old and should have a number of years left to try to get back to the level that allowed her to win four Grand Slams. In 2024, she has been inconsistent but that is normally the way things play out in a return after a long layoff.
For many years, Osaka worked with coach Wim Fissette. The two won two majors together. Fissette was so keen to work with Osaka again upon her return that he left Qinwen Zheng in the lurch and suddenly looking for a new coach. Osaka and Fissette have now split, though.
In place on Fissette, Osaka, according to various media outlets, is now working with Patrick Mouratoglou. Mouratoglou knows his tennis, of course, and has worked with a number of high-profile tennis players over the last couple of decades. His star pupil was Serena Williams.
Naomi Osaka has split with Wim Fissette and replaced him with Patrick Mouratoglou
There could be an argument, however, that Mouratoglou made his bones because of the talent of Williams. In recent years, the coach has worked with Simona Halep and Holger Rune and those situations have not worked out nearly as well.
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In fact, Halep's four-year suspension for testing positive for the banned substance Roxadustat at the US Open in 2022 should be blamed on Mouratoglou who was in charge of Halep's diet and gave the player some collagen that had been tainted with the banned substance. Maybe all parties were innocent of any intentional wrongdoing, but the player was the one having to prove her innocence (which she eventually did).
Hopefully, the split from Fissette and the new work with Mouratoglou will pay off for Naomi Osaka. She is a refreshing presence in tennis with her openness and ability to come across as fully human instead of just some tennis machine. If she wins another Slam, that would be great. But based on Mouratoglou's recent run, she might not be better off.
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