Naomi Osaka’s Coach Reveals Real Reason Behind the Fast-Tracked Post Pregnancy Return to Tennis and Its Challenges

Wim Fissette is one of the most decorated coaches in the modern game. The 44-year-old legendary Belgian tennis coach has a special knack for coaching the world’s number-one tennis players. Referring to the same, Fissette started his second stint with the former world number, Naomi Osaka in October 2023. The tail of 2019 to December 2022 marked their first stint together. But then Osaka took a break from tennis and returned to the tour this year following the birth of her daughter Shai in July last year. 

Naomi Osaka hasn’t yet got back her A-game on the Tour since her comeback. Her best results this year came at the Qatar Open where she reached the SF. Did she rush a bit to make her comeback after such a long gap? While appearing on The AO Show’s podcast of ‘The Sit-Down with Wim Fissette’, the coach narrated how it was all back to square one for Osaka.

When asked about what does Wim makes out of Naomi’s comeback, Wim said he is “super happy” to join Osaka yet again. However, the coach said, “It was a start from zero again, after giving birth. And actually just starting a few months later, that was definitely very, very challenging. And yeah, her first match was, was only six months after giving birth to that was like super early,” reflecting Osaka’s giving birth and playing her first match just 6 months after.

He further went on to reflect his satisfaction with her progress by stating, “But yeah, we felt we all felt she was she was ready to make a comeback. She was already in a very good physical state.” Moreover, the coach further shed light on the fact that Osaka was eager to be back on court. “And she was just very impatient to get to get going again.” Few months down the line, the coach admitted that they are happy with the progress she has made so far wee-on-week. “And we are now a few months few months later. I think as a team, we see we’re actually very happy with the progress.“

Naomi Osaka spoke to ESPN about her return to tennis six months after giving birth to her daughter. “Being a mum has changed my life a lot…It’s definitely made me feel like physically I can handle a lot,” Osaka said during a visit to Brisbane’s Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Further she revealed that her return to court is basically to set an example for her daughter. “I want to show Shai that she’s capable of everything, so that’s one of my main purposes and main reasons why I want to be back out here.”

Osaka made her return at the start of the 2024 season with Australian Open after giving birth to daughter Shai last summer. Naomi Osaka overcame her historical struggles on clay, winning her first match on the surface in over a year at the Madrid Open. Adding to it, she will face France’s Clara Burel in her first match at the Italian Open. How high are the hopes for the Japanese tennis star in the clay court swing? 

Fissette says he’s extremely pleased with the process that Naomi Osaka is currently in. He stated that Osaka hasn’t played the clay courts for a long time and hasn’t had that much success on this surface for a while. So, expecting a miracle is a bit too much at the moment but he ain’t yet ready to lose his hopes. Nonetheless, Wim Fissette is quite optimistic about the Japanese tennis star this season and he repeatedly highlighted that “progress is very good.“

“She’s going to win more Grand Slams” – Naomi Osaka’s coach is quite optimistic about her future

The four-time Grand Slam champion is currently placed at the 173rd spot in the women’s singles ranking. Her win-loss record for this season is currently recorded at 9-8. There is still a lot of work to be done to bring out the best of her versions this season. “She has won her four Grand Slams and she played amazing tennis. But coaching her, I feel there’s a lot more to do,” Wim Fissette on Naomi Osaka.

The renowned tennis coach went on to add, “I do feel that if she keeps making steps forward that that’s the results going to be that she’s going to win more Grand Slams. That’s at least the goal and that’s where we as a team really believe in.”

Keeping this belief will be the key to bringing back Naomi Osaka to her tracks. The team needs to keep faith in her, fans need to support her and bring her back on her feet whenever she gets down. More importantly, Naomi Osaka needs to believe in her own abilities. Fissette has helped her win the 2020 US Open and 2021 AO. Can he help her land a few more in the near future?