“He absolutely is really good coach,” Naomi Osaka said of Patrick Mouratoglou! Following a split with her four-year coach Wim Fissette, who helped her win two of her career’s four grand slams, Osaka brought in Serena Williams‘ ex-coach, Mouratoglou, to her team. This tactical shift comes after the Japanese star’s unfortunate streak of early-round defeats throughout the season. This strategic change seems to be paying off, as Osaka has advanced to the round of 64 at the China Open with impressive ease. What must be her winning formula here?

Osaka has faced challenges since returning to tennis after maternity leave in January. Despite playing in numerous tournaments, she has struggled to reach the later rounds, with only two quarterfinal appearances and no Grand Slam past the second round. Before the tournament in Beijing started, Osaka was noticed practicing with the veteran coach Mouratoglou at UCLA. Thankfully, the duo’s collaboration and Osaka’s hard work paid off in the first round of the event, where the former World No. 1 cruised past Lucia Bronzetti in straight sets (6-3,6-2).

There was a subtle change in her gameplay as she embraced the technique of net play throughout the match, perhaps following the guidance of the Frenchman, Mouratoglou, who was there in the player’s box, supporting Osaka. The Japanese’s powerful serve and aggressive returns played a key role. Osaka dominated the match from the start, breaking Bronzetti’s serve in the seventh game of the first set and maintaining control throughout. She easily won the second set, securing two more breaks and finishing the match in under 83 minutes.

The win marks Osaka’s first appearance at the China Open since she won the tournament in 2019. During the post-match press conference, the 26-year-old said, “I think for me the Asian swing is full of possibilities. I’ve always done really well at the end of the year. I always look forward to it.”

Osaka is now hoping to “dig deep” and produce the same good results in Japan as well. Osaka, who has fallen below the top 50, further revealed that she looks forward to being seeded in the 2025 Australian Open. However, she previously confessed on Instagram that, “I don’t feel like I am in my body,” does not intend to burden herself with the pressure of consistently delivering good results in the tournaments. Instead, she’s “just trying to take it day by day,”.

As per her current form and change in her gameplay, it does not seem quite impossible for Osaka, who is going to face the 21st seed, Yulia Putintseva, in the second round, to fulfill her goal. Besides, now, she has Mouratoglou by her side too! However, Naomi Osaka also opened up on her new collaboration with Mouratoglou and revealed why she was initially hesitant to work with him!

Naomi Osaka: From “avoiding” hiring Mouratoglou as her coach to “learning” from him

The 54-year-old coach has coached many renowned players in the past, including Simona Halep, Holger Rune (for six months), and Williams (from 2012 to 2022). While for some players his successful coaching history serves as an extra reason to hire him, for Naomi Osaka this was not the case. “The fact that he was Serena’s coach made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big,” she said after defeating the Italian player, Bronzetti.

The former World No. 1 player further added, “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.” However, her views changed soon after she started working with Mouratoglou. Now, Osaka hopes to extend her coaching partnership with the Frenchman for a long time.

She further added, “I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets. 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. Patrick seemed like the guy with, I guess, the information that I wanted to learn from,” while talking about her working relationship with Mouratoglou.

Naomi Osaka is rebuilding her empire, trying to regain her momentum on-court and once again rise to the No. 1 position like she did in 2019. With Mouratoglou’s expertise, she hopes to achieve greater heights in the sport!