Historically, motherhood often signaled the end of a professional tennis career. While pioneers like Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong Cawley, and Kim Clijsters defied this norm by winning Grand Slams after giving birth, most players traditionally focused on family after retirement. However, Serena Williams’s 2016 Australian Open victory, while pregnant, marked a turning point. Then, WTA stars like Victoria Azarenka Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic and Naomi Osaka followed. However, Osaka, after a disappointing return marked by title-less run in 2024, hinted at a potential retirement. Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, has offered his perspective on the situation.

For the unversed, Osaka’s 2024 season was nothing less than a forgettable year. Why? After giving birth to Shai in 2023, Osaka was looking to make a stellar appearance on the court. However, her start to the season was not positive. At the Abu Dhabi Open in February, she couldn’t move past the first round. Then at the Qatar Open, she failed to seal a spot in the semis after crashing out in the QF round. A similar fate awaited her at the Indian Wells after she was eliminated in the third round. The negative phase continued at the subsequent events in Miami, Cincinnati, and China.

Even at the Grand Slams, namely the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open, Osaka failed to make her presence felt. In all these three majors, throughout the year, she crashed out in the second round. While she managed to reach Top 50 from being unranked at the beginning of the season, it was perhaps the only positive aspect from last year. If one has to describe her 2024 season, it was title-less!

“If I’m not above a certain ranking, I don’t see myself playing for a while,” said Naomi Osaka last December before kick-starting her 2025 season with the ASB Classic in Auckland. On Wednesday, in an Instagram post, Mouratoglou shared his reaction to Osaka’s thoughts on moving away from tennis.

After one of his followers urged him to share his perspective, he said, “I totally understand.” “When you’ve been a multiple Grand Slam winner, I think it’s very difficult mentally to be far from the level that you know you can play,” he added.

Explaining Osaka’s determination to reach a desired ranking and not settling with anything less, he said, “I don’t see her playing either to be Top 20. I don’t think she has this mindset that she wants to be there. She wants to win, she wants to feel that she’s great at what she’s doing. And I think that’s a good thing.” But why’s that?

“Because if you accept to be Top 20, there is no chance you’re going to win a Grand Slam. You have to refuse to be at a certain level because you deserve better or you think you’re able to do better. And it’s not disrespectful for anybody else, it’s just something between you and yourself. So, she is right to say that it’s not disrespectful to anyone.”

Hoping for her to accomplish the top spot soon, the coach revealed, “I’m sure she will be back there (No.1). I see how much she wants it, I see how hard she works, I’m sure we’re doing the right things. It’s a question of time.” He’s aware that she “had a difficult season last year; she had a difficult three years, because also she had a baby and she had to get back into shape.” At the same time, “a lot of things are rebuilt already, but it’s a long-term process.” he concluded.

Patrick Mouratoglou joined Naomi Osaka‘s team last September after she parted ways with former trainer Wim Fissette. Although it’s not been too long for him being her coach, they seem to have jelled well lately. In fact, Osaka just made it evident with a huge update on her dynamics with him. Initially, she thought this partnership would not work!

Naomi Osaka reveals she was wrong about Patrick Mouratoglou

After joining Mouratoglou, she officially played her first event under his tutelage at the China Open in October. However, she couldn’t impress with her performance due to an injury. She withdrew her name after the Round of 16. Determined to prove herself; she made a solid run at the ASB Classic in Auckland in December. She was the runner-up at that WTA 250 tournament. But her strong comeback was seen at the 2025 Australian Open. In the ongoing first major of the new season, she’s been on a winning streak!

In the first round, she outclassed France’s Caroline Garcia with a scoreline of 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. The two-time Australian Open winner then shined in the second round as well. On Wednesday, she beat Czechia’s Karolina Muchova 6-1, 1-6, 6-3. After the match, she sat down for an official press conference. In that, she discussed her player-coach relationship with Mouratoglou.

Naomi Osaka mentioned that initially she wasn’t sure of this collaboration. “Yeah, it’s funny. I’ve told people this like in the very beginning um I was a little wary of him just because his persona is like very I didn’t know if I would get along with him. Yeah I said that out loud whatever.” However, her misconception has now gone away. But how?

Explaining the same, she said that “he’s actually really funny, like very hilarious, and I didn’t expect that from him because I thought he was so straight-laced, but he’s very funny.”

It’s good to see that she’s having an amazing experience with Serena Williams’ former trainer. Hopefully, he will guide her to glory once again. For now, she will look to continue her dominant form under him at the Australian Open. In the next match, she’s set to face Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic on Friday—Clash of Moms. Do you think Osaka will be able to clear this hurdle and reach the fourth round? Let us know in the comments below.