Naomi Osaka says she doesn’t ‘regret’ hiring Serena’s former coach

Beijing (AFP) – Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka said on Wednesday she “doesn’t want to have any regrets” after confirming she is working with Serena Williams’ high-profile former coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

Released: 25/09/2024 – 11:39Modified: 25/09/2024 – 12:03

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Former world number one Osaka, currently ranked 73rd, beat Italian Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of the WTA 1000 China Open with Frenchman Mouratoglou in her zone.

Osaka, 26, parted ways with Belgian coach Wim Fissette this month as she tries to return to the form that helped her reach the pinnacle of women’s basketball.

Japanese Osaka said she “felt like I needed a change” and described Mouratoglou, who is best known as Williams’ long-time coach, as a “big personality”.

“I like the way she trains. I think it’s going to be really interesting,” she said in Beijing after setting up a second-round match with 21st-seeded Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan.

“I think I’m at a point in my life where I don’t want to have regrets. I’d rather pull the trigger and I don’t want to say ‘fail,’ but I feel like I really need to learn as much as I can at this point in my career.”

“Patrick seemed to be the guy who had, I thought, the information I wanted to learn.”

Fissette served as Osaka’s coach twice, from 2019 to the summer of 2022, and then they reunited last year when Osaka inaugurated her return to tennis following the birth of her daughter Shai in July 2023.

Since January, when Osaka returned to the WTA Tour, she has struggled to win.

The recent US Open ended in her defeat in the second round, and her best results since returning to action have been two quarterfinal appearances.

Osaka, who won the China Open in 2019, admitted she was initially a bit wary of Mouratoglou given the 54-year-old’s long and successful partnership with the legendary Williams.

“I think the fact that he was my Serena coach made me want to avoid him, simply because his personality is so pronounced,” she said.

“Then I met him, I talked to him, I worked with him on the pitch. He’s definitely a really good coach. I’m really happy that he’s taking on this project as well.”

Osaka said she “still feels a little nervous around him.”

“When he looks at me, I look at the floor. I think I need a lot more time together,” she said.

“I feel more and more comfortable every day.”