Just over a week ago, before the start of the Canadian Open, it was announced Naomi Osaka split with tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou, ending their 10-month partnership. Now, the four-time grand slam champion is making a run on the hard courts in the weeks leading up to the US Open.
Someone rooting for her success: Mouratoglou.
“She’s doing well for the moment in Montreal. Let’s hope she’s going to go all the way,” Mouratoglou said in an interview with CNN Sports on Tuesday. “I think her level of tennis is here.
“Physically, she is ready, and she’s a great competitor, she’s a great champion. So at some point, it’s going to work out. I have no doubt about it.”
Osaka, currently ranked No. 49, is having her best run of the season, and it’s coming on Canadian soil – and on the type of surface where she’s had her best results of her career. In Montreal, she’ll take on Elina Svitolina on Tuesday night for a spot in the semifinals.
“I’m just trying to rack up hard court wins,” Osaka said Sunday, after advancing to the quarterfinals. “I think I’m pretty confident with my base right now.”
Osaka is seeking her first WTA Tour title since she hoisted the Australian Open trophy in 2021.
Results of the partnership with Osaka and Mouratoglou were mixed, which included injuries and uneven results. Osaka won her first title since becoming a mother in May, in a lower-tier WTA 125 event in France. In January, she reached her first WTA Tour final since returning from maternity leave, but she was forced to retire mid-match because of an abdominal injury. Her best results at grand slams so far this year are reaching the round of 32 at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
Mouratoglou, known for his great success coaching Serena Williams, discussed the split with Osaka and her subsequent run in Montreal with CNN.
“The thing that was missing was the competitiveness,” Mouratoglou said of Osaka on when the pair were working together. “I think she’s a great competitor, but at that time she was not as good as a competitor as I think can be and she has been in the past. And this is the thing that we didn’t solve.
“I wish we could have more time to solve it. But we didn’t, that’s life, and I have no regrets on that because that’s the rule when you work in high level.
“I mean, time is important, and you have to solve the problems fast. So I think that was the key that was missing.
“And when we stopped, I said to her, ‘I mean, I think you’re ready. If you find the person that will help you get back your efficiency during the matches, I think you’re ready to do great results right now, and I hope it’s going to happen very soon.’”
Mouratoglou released a book in the spring called “Champion Mindset,” which focuses on the mental approach to the game and life. He was asked by CNN if he would describe himself as a tennis coach or a mental coach.
“The mental is a huge part of that sport, probably the most important part,” Mouratoglou said to CNN. “So I think it’s important that the coaches are able to also help the players on that aspect of the game.
“Am I a mental coach? I hope I’m not only a mental coach because, you know what, when you are a coach, as tennis is so complex, there is a huge technical aspect – a huge mental aspect, and the physical is extremely important.
“So every player will bring you different problematics that you have to solve; otherwise they would be No. 1 already. If they’re not, it means on the way from where they are to No. 1, you will have to solve things and help them solve them.
“So my goal is to have the tools to solve any kind of, do I think I’m maybe better on the on the mental side? I think so, but I hope I’m good enough on the other ones too.”
After the split with Mouratoglou, Osaka started working with Polish tennis coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, known for his success with Iga Swiatek. In that three-year partnership, Swiatek won four major titles. Wiktorowski also coached another former Polish tennis star in Agnieszka Radwanska.
Osaka told reporters Sunday she is enjoying working with Wiktorowski.
“I enjoy his coaching style,” she said Sunday. “He’s very direct and to the point. For someone like me, who my thoughts scatter around often, it’s very helpful.”
On how she currently measures success, Osaka still is eying the majors, saying: “I talked to my dad, and he said, ‘Just being healthy and happy is a form of success.’ I agree with that, but I want more.
“I mean, definitely of course I would want to win slams, of course I would want to be in the top 10, but I think I need to pace myself and go for the mini goals, and they’ll eventually turn into the big goals.
“I think being in the quarterfinals here is a step to hopefully getting to the semis and the finals, so I’ll try to treat it more like that.”
