Naomi Osaka joins forces with Serena Williams’ ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou after Simona Halep doping controversy: Reports
Naomi Osaka has reportedly teamed up with Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach after parting ways with Wim Fissette. Mouratoglou has previously coached the likes of Serena Williams, Simona Halep, and most recently, Holger Rune.
Shortly after her second-round exit at the 2024 US Open, Osaka announced her decision to part ways with her coach Wim Fissette. The duo, who initially worked together from 2019 to 2022 and reunited after the former World No. 1’s return from maternity leave, won two Grand Slam titles together at the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open.The Japanese broke the news on social media, expressing her gratitude for Fissette’s guidance and wishing him success in his future endeavors.
“4 years, 2 Slams and a whole lot of memories. Thanks Wim for being a great coach and an even greater person. Wishing you all the best,” Osaka posted on her Instagram story.
Naomi Osaka's Instagram story
Naomi Osaka’s Instagram story
According to reports by Open Court, Naomi Osaka already has a replacement lined up, as she is set to join forces with Patrick Mouratoglou. The four-time Grand Slam champion was reportedly keen to hire Mouratoglou upon her return from maternity leave. But he was unavailable due to his commitment to Holger Rune at the time.
The Japanese was recently spotted training under Mouratoglou’s watchful eyes at UCLA, lending credence to the reports of their partnership.
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Naomi Osaka’s decision to partner with Patrick Mouratoglou comes in the wake of the Frenchman’s involvement in former protege Simona Halep’s doping controversy. Halep served a nine-month suspension for testing positive for the banned substance Roxadustat at the 2022 US Open.Mouratoglou took responsibility for the contaminated collagen supplement that was determined to be the source of the Roxadustat, admitting that his team had procured the tainted supplement.Halep also addressed the controversy in a December 2023 interview with Paris Match, lamenting that 25 years of her career were “destroyed” due to the Frenchman and his team’s mistake.
“My team recommended that I take a food supplement, collagen. I followed their advice and it turned out that the collagen was contaminated with roxadustat,” Halep said.
“I’m sure it wasn’t done intentionally and I’m grateful he admits the mistake was his and his team’s. Yes, they are the ones who gave me this food supplement. And for this error – their error – I am the only one to pay the high price: 25 years of career destroyed,” she added.
“I’m very excited that Naomi Osaka comes back, I think she can do well” – Patrick Mouratoglou
Naomi Osaka (Source: Getty)
Naomi Osaka (Source: Getty)
Patrick Mouratoglou’s willingness to work with Naomi Osaka comes as no surprise, as he has been very supportive of her comeback to the tour. In an interview with Eurosport in December last year, the Frenchman emphasized that Osaka’s return was the “best news” for women’s tennis.
“I think it’s the best news for women’s tennis,” he said. “Now you have Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, not there are no others because of course there are many others, but I think those two are super exciting. They are superstars, so they’re great for the WTA – the WTA needs superstars.”
Mouratoglou also highlighted the former World No. 1’s motivation to make a strong comeback and expressed confidence in her ability to achieve success on her return to competition.
“We had so many great years with Serena, Venus, and Maria Sharapova, who are three really huge stars and I think it draws a lot of attention to women’s tennis when you have players like that. So I’m very excited that Naomi comes back. I think she’s great. I think she can do well. I feel that she’s very motivated to come back,” he added.
Naomi Osaka may debut her partnership with Patrick Mouratoglou at the upcoming WTA 1000 China Open in Beijing, which commences on September 25.
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