Patrick Mouratoglou Shares What Went Wrong During His Partnership With Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka has reached back-to-back tournament semi-finals since her split with Patrick Mouratoglou.

Patrick Mouratoglou Shares What Went Wrong During His Partnership With Naomi Osaka

Patrick Mouratoglou, Naomi Osaka (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

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Patrick Mouratoglou has revealed the major reasons behind why Naomi Osaka parted ways with him in July. Osaka has been a different player since ending her collaboration with the legendary coach on tour, getting to her first Grand Slam semi-finals since 2021 at the recently concluded US Open in New York.

Osaka began her partnership with Mouratoglou in September last year, and there were expectations that results would change quickly for the 27-year-old. She had returned to tour in 2024 after her maternity leave but was struggling with her game. Months into her collaboration, Osaka kept suffering early exits in tournaments.

Her best result came during the clay-court season at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo, France. She won the tournament, dropping just two sets en route to the final. It was her first title on the red dirt. However, her partnership with Mouratoglou came to an end after she crashed out of the Citi Open.

But just days into her new collaboration with Tomasz Wiktorowski, she reached her second WTA final at the Canadian Open. The former World No.1 eventually lost the title to 18-year-old Victoria Mboko. But she continued with her form at the US Open, beating French Open champion Coco Gauff in the fourth round.

She then went on to reach the semi-finals before losing to Amanda Anisimova in three sets. In an interview with The Guardian, Mouratoglou revealed that he couldn’t take away the pressure on her during their time working together. He added that if he had done that she would have expressed herself more freely on the court:

I think that having me as a coach was a bit heavy for her, in regards to what I did with Serena for many years. She mentioned it a few times actually, even publicly – and I didn’t find a way to take that pressure away. I think maybe that’s why she wasn’t performing. As soon as I was not in the loop, she felt probably lighter. By not having that pressure, she could express her tennis more freely. But there are no hard feelings. She’s a great competitor.

Osaka broke down in tears many times during her press conference but one particularly stood out from the rest. That was after her defeat to Paula Badosa in the French Open first round. She expressed her disappointment with her game, while adding that she also didn’t meet the expectations of Mouratoglou.

Patrick Mouratoglou reacts to Naomi Osaka’s recent good results on tour

Naomi Osaka is currently ranked World No.14 in the WTA rankings. If she had reached the final of the US Open, she would have climbed to No.11. However, she still has a chance of breaking the top 10 this season. It is also worth noting that the 27-year-old doesn’t have many points to defend in the Asian swing and indoor tournaments.

Naomi Osaka (2)
Naomi Osaka (Image via X/TNT Sports)

Also, she’s currently in the best form of her career since 2022 having reached the final of the Canadian Open and semi-finals of the US Open. During the aforementioned interview, Patrick Mouratoglou admitted that he knew she was going to eventually get her breakthrough after their split:

When we split, I told her agent she was 100% ready – which I felt because her practice level was consistent and extremely high. She needed these breakthroughs, which she had quite fast, to probably realize that she was able to play with the best and beat them. For women’s tennis to have Naomi back in the mix is amazing.

Osaka recently withdrew from the Billie Jean King Cup final round will be played between September 16 and 21 at the Shenzhen Bay Sports Centre Arena in Shenzhen, China. She’s expected to be back on the court at the China Open, which starts on September 24.

Also Read: Andy Murray Admits He’s Open to Returning to Coaching Duties, But on One Condition