“My heart dies every time I lose,” Naomi Osaka said last month. She has played 34 matches so far but has won just 18 and she is yet to win a title in this season. This is surprising for a player who has won four Grand Slam titles in her career. Osaka, who has been struggling to find her footing after having a baby, had to make an early exit from the US Open after her loss to Karolina Muchova, 6-3, 7-6(5). All this culminated in her splitting with her coach Wim Fissette.

Fissette previously worked with Naomi Osaka from 2020-2022. During that time, Osaka stated, “It was really good times with Wim and he’s a really amazing coach. We didn’t part on bad terms. I just felt I needed different energy, and at the same time, he’s a very ambitious guy.” After that, the 44-year-old Belgian coach joined Zheng Qinwen’s team to coach the Chinese star, but when Osaka yet again called him to join her, he broke the contract with Qinwen and this left her furious. She called his action “very immoral.“

But now, Osaka and Fissette have split once again. As per the coach, after her US Open exit, Osaka wanted to move forward with a new path. But Rennae Stubbs has some thoughts about him and Fissette might not like it.

During ‘The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast’, the Aussie coach said, “He (Wim Fissette) likes the money. Like, that’s a lot of the, I know for a fact. You know, some of the things that got him fired from other jobs was that he wanted more money. And so I just wonder if her not getting deep into tournaments and winning tournaments, because as a coach, you get bonuses.”

Serena Williams’ former coach, Stubbs previously accused Brad Gilbert of Coco Gauff’s poor performances and now perhaps it’s time for her to aim at the Belgian! “So there are some coaches, and I get asked this question quite a bit. Like, how much do coaches make? What’s the normal rate? Blah, blah, blah. And some coaches are daily, literally daily. Some are weekly. Some are on a retainer for an entire year,” she shared. Clearly, she wasn’t too pleased with Fisette’s role in Osaka’s team, either.

However, this isn’t the first time Stubbs has said something like this. Back in 2023, she discussed why the coach would have left Qinwen to go back to Osaka. “… it came down to money because word on the street is that Wim likes the cashola,” she had opined. At the same time, we must not forget that during his tenure, Naomi Osaka won two Grand Slam titles (2020 US Open & 2021 AO).

He has previously worked with Victoria Azarenka, Kim Clijsters, and Simona Halep. But one question still stands. What did Fissette say after his second split with the Japanese?

Wim Fissette’s first reaction after his split with Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is currently ranked 76th in the world. Next up for the 26-year-old Japanese star is likely the China Open, where she is eager to make a comeback and claim a title before wrapping up her 2024 season. Following her recent split, several names have emerged as potential replacements for her coaching team. We saw Stubbs coming up with a cryptic post on her X handle. She wrote, “Taylor Swift song ‘if I was a man’ song is just hitting me today. The tennis coaching world is hilarious.”

However, according to Fissette, it was “truly a pleasure” to work with someone like Naomi Osaka. He said he was proud of her comeback journey and to see her grow as a person, and athlete and now as a mother as well. “A champion in many ways. We started from zero and developed week by week. In 15 years on tour, this was one of my best years working together with amazing people. From every defeat, we worked harder and better and grew a lot. We were very close to a breakthrough…“

Shortly after that, a new name emerged as a potential replacement for the Belgian coach, and guess who? It’s none other than Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. Naomi Osaka was spotted practicing with the Frenchman after announcing her split from Fissette.

Now, it will be interesting to see if Mouratoglou can boost her confidence and guide her back to winning ways. Do you think the Osaka-Mouratoglou pairing will be a success? Let us know in the comment below.