Naomi Osaka reveals reasons for coaching change after securing first win with Patrick Mouratoglou

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Naomi Osaka said she did not want to have regrets after winning her first match under the guidance of new coach Patrick Mouratoglou.

The four-time grand slam champion split from long-term coach Wim Fissette earlier this month and immediately turned to Frenchman Mouratoglou, who is best known for being in Serena Williams’ corner for the last 10 years of her career.

Osaka returned to the WTA Tour at the start of the season following the birth of daughter Shai last year but has been frustrated by her progress, with her ranking currently down at 73.

The Japanese star made a positive start to the China Open in Beijing on Wednesday, beating Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-2.

Speaking about Mouratoglou afterwards on wtatennis.com, Osaka said: “I think the fact that he was Serena’s coach for me made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big.

“Like, this isn’t rude because I found out it’s not true, but I didn’t know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena.

“Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach. I’m really glad that he’s taking this project on, as well.

“I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets. I’d rather pull the trigger on something and - I don’t want to say ‘fail’ - but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career. Patrick seemed like the guy with, I guess, the information that I wanted to learn from.”

Chinese wild card Zhang Shuai, meanwhile, beat American McCartney Kessler 7-6 (5) 7-6 (1) for her first singles win since January 2023 - ending a run of 24 straight losses.

PA