Naomi Osaka is one of the few tennis players who has made a successful return to tennis after a maternity break, and her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, recently spoke about how he is looking to help the Japanese player find her way back to superstardom.
Osaka is a former world number one and a four-time Grand Slam champion. She was away from tennis for 15 months and welcomed her daughter Shai in July 2023 before making a comeback to the circuit at the Brisbane International in early 2024. She had a decent year as she reached two quarterfinals, but was held back by a nagging abdominal injury.
The same issue flared up earlier this year and forced her to withdraw from the final of the Auckland Open as well as the third round of the Australian Open. Her coach, Mouratoglou, who has famously worked with Serena Williams, recently spoke about how injuries took a toll on her, but added that Osaka has found a way to battle past them.
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“We started in September, and she has been injured a lot since then. She had five months of injuries out of the eight, so there were constant stop-and-go’s but she’s playing better and better. She has now won eight consecutive matches on clay,” Mouratoglou told France 24 as shared by a user on X.
He added:
“A player who has been the world number one, won four Grand Slams, obviously, is coming back to do at least as well as before. The thing is, it starts from a much lower base. It has been a long break. Physically, it was a lot of work. There was a lot of work to be done to get her back in the saddle. I think things are coming together better recently.”
Osaka won the L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo earlier this month, which was her first title on clay and her first since the 2021 Australian Open crown.
It was a special victory for Naomi Osaka, especially after her constant struggles with injuries as well as her mental health battles. The former world number one later said it was “ironic” that she won her first title in nearly four years on a surface that she thought was “her worst”.
Patrick Mouratoglou feels he can “help” if Naomi Osaka's mental health issues resurface
Naomi Osaka has publicly spoken about how she has endured mental health struggles and how they have affected her career. Her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, feels he is in a position to help her if those issues resurface. Speaking in the same aforementioned interview, Mouratoglou said:
“It’s in the past (her mental health issues), but it could come back. What’s important is that I understand her perfectly, because I am going to sense the dangers and I am going to be able to help her. That’s always my first step, to know exactly who I am dealing with and to know the player inside out. For that, it’s a lot of time and seeing them in different situations, understanding where they come from, what their history is, what their family history is. Once I have all the elements, I can understand them and how they feel in different situations. And that’s where I can really help them.”
Enjoying a fine run on clay, Naomi Osaka will look to spring a surprise at Roland Garros as she bids for her first Grand Slam title on clay.
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