Naomi Osaka’s Renewed Focus Highlighted With Great Emotion as Coach Patrick Mouratoglou Makes Heartfelt Admission

“It takes more strength to speak up than to stay quiet,” – Naomi Osaka has often been very vocal about mental health issues. She previously revealed that she “suffered a long bout of depression” since her US Open win in 2018. Everyone loves watching the four-time Grand Slam champion dominate the court with her incredible skills, but little are they aware of what it takes to become the best. Sport can be extremely grueling at times and it can take a heavy toll on the player’s mental health. Who knows it better than Osaka, though? However, according to her new coach, she has now kept all the concerns aside as she’s now extremely motivated to turn things around once again in her career.

The 2024 season didn’t go as per her plans, but amid all these struggles with a lack of form and a few injury concerns, Naomi Osaka still managed to climb up to 59 from 833! This year, we also saw her making a massive change in her team. She parted ways with her long-time coach Wim Fissette and brought in Serena Williams’ former coach, Patrik Mouratoglou to her team. The 54-year-old Frenchman comes up with a vast experience of coaching multiple superstars in the tennis world. In fact, he has coached Williams for almost a decade and during that tenure, she won 10 Grand Slam titles!

Mouratoglou started working with Osaka in September this year, so they’re still in the early days of their partnership. Within this short span of time, Patrick Mouratoglou has managed to find out a basic difference between working with Williams and Osaka. According to him, motivation played a crucial role in his partnership with the American star. “I think we worked so well together because I think we were both motivating each other all the time,” he said. Now speaking about Naomi Osaka he revealed, “For Naomi, it’s different because she really feels she has to give and do much more. She had two very difficult years.”

Further speaking on Osaka’s struggles in the last few years, he added, “First, she had this mental health issue, and then she had a baby. So she’s been out, and then she restarted the year this season and it was not a very good season.” However, despite her struggles to get back to her old form, Mouratoglou believes, “She’s extremely motivated to come back and win Grand Slams, and it’s a pleasure for me because that’s the dream of every coach: to have a player who has that level of motivation.”

A few years back, Naomi Osaka’s struggles were so extreme that she even withdrew from the 2021 French Open to put more focus on mental health. She even announced that she would be skipping the post-match interviews during that tournament. It was a decision, she made to protect herself. Explaining more on that she said, “I’m just not going to subject myself to people that doubt me. I’ve watched many clips of athletes breaking down after a loss in the press room…I believe that whole situation is kicking a person while they’re down.”

She used to find press conferences pretty stressful at that time. In fact, she once revealed that she often wears headphones to help her dull her anxiety levels. There have been multiple moments in the past when she faced some severe criticisms from the hecklers. It took a big toll on her mental health at that time. However, those things are past, and now, she’s extremely determined to bring out her best version in 2025. What are her goals for the 2025 season, though?

Naomi Osaka reveals her goals for the 2025 season

This season was full of inconsistency and seeing the former world number one struggle to fight against lower-ranked opponents was never a pleasing sight for her fans. Everyone wants to see the vintage Naomi Osaka! Her 2025 season will possibly start in Auckland at the ASB Classic. Speaking about her comeback to this iconic tournament, Osaka said, “I am looking forward to just embracing the nature of Auckland and of course, playing in a tournament that I have not played in for a long time. I am excited to return to Auckland for the ASB Classic 2025.”

She also recalled some of her fond memories from her previous trip to Auckland. Clearly, this is one of her favorite destinations on the Tour, and she’d definitely like to get some wins under her belt in that tournament before taking up the mammoth task. However, that’s not her big goal though! What’s her goal then for the 2025 season as of now, though?

Well, during an interview in September, she said, “My goal now, I think to be seeded in Australia. I would really love that. I would love to avoid Caroline Garcia (smiling). Yeah, just being seeded. But not putting too much pressure on myself. I’m just trying to take it day by day.” Naomi Osaka ended this season empty-handed! Do you think she can fulfill the wishes of her fans by winning a few titles next season?