After appointing Patrick Mouratoglou as her new coach, Naomi Osaka claims she is at a point in her life where she does not want to have regrets.
In her maiden encounter at the China Open, Japan’s Osaka defeated Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-2 under Mouratoglou, who was once Serena Williams’ longtime coach.
Earlier in September, the 26-year-old athlete parted ways with Wim Fisette, with whom she shared two of her four Grand Slam victories. Osaka then mentioned that she was at first hesitant about working with Mouratoglou.
The athlete said: “The fact that he was Serena’s coach made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big… 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.”
Osaka’s return
Osaka returned from maternity leave in January, but she has been having a challenge being consistent since. Out of the 16 tournaments she has participated in this season, she has only advanced to the quarter-finals in two of them and has not advanced past the second round of any Grand Slam.
Now working with Mouratoglou, she admitted: “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.”
She added: “I try not to get into relationships with people for the short term. I try to think of it as a long-term commitment.”
Source: BBC