“4 years, 2 Slams, and a whole lot of memories.” When Naomi Osaka penned these words on Instagram, the tennis world felt a shock. Fans were trying to process the shocking news of her split from longtime coach Wim Fissette—a partnership that had brought so much success. But just when the tennis community thought they had wrapped their heads around it, Osaka threw another curveball. In a matter of days, she was spotted working with none other than Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou. Talk about a fast transition! The journalist Jon Wertheim has now come forward with some intriguing insights on the matter.

Jon Wertheim participated in the September 24th episode of  Served with Andy Roddick as the two deliberated on a wide range of aspects including the latest shifts and team changes that have been witnessed. Talking about Osaka, Wertheim highlighted that the star player did not create any buzz or drop any hint about the changes she was about to make in her team, and the entire procedure was carried out secretively. 

Speaking on the Podcast, the journalist recalled an interesting incident from the US Open. “Someone there at the US Open said Patrick is talking to Naomi just so you know that this is gonna happen. I went to the Osaka camp and it was vigorously, categorically, vehemently denied.” He even questioned whether the team itself was aware of the change or not. “So either the camp didn’t know or there was some real, sort of, behind-the-scenes negotiating here.” Remember, Osaka decided to part ways with Fissette soon after her second-round exit at the US Open. 

Osaka was spotted practicing with Mouratoglou at the UCLA tennis courts after she split with her coach. The end of the long partnership came in the backdrop of a subpar season. Remember, Osaka faced second-round exits at all the Grand Slam tournaments she played this year, except the Australian Open, which was worse, where she was ousted in the first round. But Osaka’s coaching setup change was not new or abrupt.

The former World No. 1 was preparing for a change even before the beginning of the US Open, according to Open Court. This further justifies Wertheim’s claim, which highlighted that there was a behind-the-scene deal that was in progress. In the process, Mouratoglou’s name was considered one of the best, given the intensive coaching experience of the Frenchman, who has trained players like Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, and Grigor Dimitrov. While it will be interesting how Osaka is impacted by this change, she seems to be happy with her call so far. 

Naomi Osaka reveals the reason behind her split with former coach

Naomi Osaka served a second term with Wim Fissette as her coach. The duo partnered first between 2019 and 2022, that witnessed Osaka winning three of her four Grand Slams. Their second stint started in 2023 but was marred by poor performances and eventually came to an end in September 2024. Osaka has now opened up about her split and expressed her sentiments. 

Speaking at the China Open, the Japanese star said, “I think Wim is one of my favorite people. I don’t want to say ‘one of’, but definitely one of my favorite coaches. It wasn’t, like, anything personal.” However, she highlighted that it was indeed necessary for her to take some bold calls and make a few changes. “I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets,” Osaka said.

She further claimed that she wishes to learn as much as possible at the present stage of her career and found Mouratoglou to be the best fit for the job. “Patrick seemed like the guy with I guess the information that I wanted to learn from.”

As far as her ongoing campaign at the China Open is concerned, Naomi Osaka has started the tournament with a win against Lucia Bronzetti in straight sets 6-3 6-2 and will be facing Yulia Putintseva in the next round. Can she keep winning under her new coach? Well, only time will tell.