Former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka has parted ways with her coach, Wim Fissette, following her early exit from the U.S. Open 2024.
Osaka took to her Instagram page to announce the decision, sharing a picture with Fissette and captioning it, “4 years, 2 Slams and a whole lot of memories. Thanks, Wim for being a great coach and an even greater person, wishing you all the best.” Under Fissette’s guidance, Osaka claimed two Grand Slam titles.
Reflecting on her recent performances, Osaka admitted, “It’s been a little difficult because obviously I can only gauge how I’m doing by results. I feel faster. I feel better, but I lost in the second round. So it’s a little rough. I feel like I’m working way harder than I’ve ever worked in my life, so it needs to turn into something.”
Fissette rejoined Osaka in January 2024, after her return to tennis following the birth of her daughter in July 2023. However, despite her efforts, Osaka reached the quarter-finals in only two of the 16 tournaments since her comeback. She has struggled to progress past the second round in her last four Grand Slam appearances and has slipped to the 75th position in the WTA rankings.
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Osaka’s disappointing US Open 2024 campaign ended in the second round, where she was defeated 3-6, 6-7 (5-7) by No. 19 seed Karolina Muchova at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Naomi Osaka says she is at a stage in life where she “does not want to have regrets”, after hiring Patrick Mouratoglou as her new coach.
Japan’s Osaka beat Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-2 at the China Open in her first match with Mouratoglou – formerly the long-time coach of Serena Williams – in her corner.
The 26-year-old split with Wim Fisette, who she won two of her four Grand Slam titles with, earlier in September.
Osaka said she was initially hesitant about working with Mouratoglou.
“The fact that he was Serena’s coach made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big,” she said.
“This isn’t rude because I found out it’s not true, but I didn’t know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena.
“Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach.”
Osaka made her return from maternity leave in January but has struggled for consistency since.
She has reached the quarter-finals in only two of the 16 tournaments she has played this season and has not gone past the second round of a Grand Slam.
“I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets,” Osaka said of working with Mouratoglou.
“I’d rather pull the trigger on something and I don’t want to say ‘fail’, but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career.
“I try not to get into relationships with people for the short term. I try to think of it as a long-term commitment.”
Osaka is next in action against 21st seed Yulia Putintseva in the second round in Beijing.
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