Sascha Bajin, the former coach of Naomi Osaka, shared a long and wholesome partnership with Serena Williams for seven long years. Bajin worked with Williams as her hitting partner until 2015, becoming a part of her tennis family. Thus, Williams was not ready to share her hitting partner with anyone, not even her sister, Venus Williams.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
To commemorate their partnership of five years, Bajin gave her five gifts, but the tennis star was not taking any chances.
Serena Williams once showed her possessiveness over Bajin
The American tennis legend has time and again shown her loyalty to the people she loves. And that is exactly what she expects in return as well. So, when she completed five years of her partnership with hitting partner Sascha Bajin in 2012, she made sure he was not switching sides. Bajin was in Florida when Serena Williams received her gift, which she adored.
@BigSascha I just got your gift # 3 of five for our 5 year anniversary together. I hope u are not in Fl cheating on by hitting with Venus…
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) June 5, 2012
However, she was not taking any chances of losing her hitting partner to her sister and issued a hilarious warning to Bajin. She tweeted, “@BigSascha I just got your gift # 3 of five for our 5-year anniversary together. I hope u are not in Fl cheating on by hitting with Venus…”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Bajin and Williams worked together for seven years until 2015, when the German decided to part ways with the 23-time Grand Slam champion to become a coach. Williams won ten grand slam titles while working with him and after switched to become Victoria Azarenka’s hitting partner. He also worked with Caroline Wozniacki and eventually became the coach of Japanese player Naomi Osaka.
Why did Naomi Osaka break ties with Sascha Bajin?
The Japanese player worked with the German coach in 2018 and won two Grand Slam titles under him. In 2018, her abrupt split with the German coach led many to question the reason behind it. Bajin even won WTA’s coach of the year for his success with Naomi Osaka. But Osaka parted ways with the coach, citing that she can not place “success over happiness”. She outrightly denied money being a part of the debate and solely decided to put her happiness over anything else.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
WATCH THIS STORY: When Serena Williams had a hilarious challenge for Naomi Osaka’s former coach
Fast forward to the present, and her 2022 season was not up to the mark. This year, her best performance was at the Miami Open, where she reached the finals. Apart from that, she faced recurrent injuries which hindered her growth.