Naomi Osaka is still searching to return to the form that won her four Grand Slam titles.
Osaka won the US Open in 2018, before going onto lift three more hard court majors, with her most recent coming at the Australian Open in 2021.
However, she has not been able to reach those same heights since then, with Osaka returning to the WTA Tour at the start of 2024 after giving birth to her first child.
After having mixed results last year, Osaka hired Patrick Mouratoglou, who has previously worked with the likes of Serena Williams, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Simona Halep.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty ImagesPatrick Mouratoglou says what Naomi Osaka needs to do much more
Mouratoglou began coaching Osaka in Beijing last year, where she reached the fourth round before suffering an abdominal injury.
This injury cut her 2024 season short, before Osaka returned at the tournament in Auckland where she reached the final.
However, this abdominal issue appeared to strike again in that final, and also forced Osaka to retire at the Australian Open.
When discussing his partnership with Osaka, Mouratoglou admitted that the current world number 55 needs to be playing more matches to help her return to anywhere near previous form.
“Well first of all, I’m very motivated because I feel her motivation to come back and to do great things again,” Mouratoglou said about Osaka. “When we started, I think she was going through a difficult period, we all know the story she went through and then she had a baby, and then she was coming back.
“She didn’t have a great year the year before. I think she started quite well, because she reached the fourth round in the first tournament it was in China, a big tournament. She was 6-4 5-4 up against Coco [Gauff] and then her abs broke, she had to pull out.
“Then two months off, then restarted, we did the pre-season, we restarted in Auckland, she was in the final. I think 5-3 up in the first set and then her abs broke again second time and then again at the Australian Open, so it was really complicated.
“I think she’s really practising well, she’s improving a lot, but if you look at the past three, four years, she really lacks matches, she really needs to play much more. I’m sure that everything will fall back in place once she will be able to compete regularly.”
Patrick Mouratoglou explains why Naomi Osaka is playing a lower level WTA tournament this week
Osaka recently lost in the first round of the Madrid Open to Lucia Bronzetti, but she did not take that defeat laying down.
The Japanese star received lots of praise for her subsequent move, as Osaka entered a WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo.
This is something that Mouratoglou has revealed was inline with his goal to get Osaka playing as many matches as possible.
“Well we decided to play a smaller tournament this week, we are in Saint-Malo in France,” said the French coach. “She really needs to play matches, for the last six, eight months she has been injured a lot, so unfortunately she hasn’t been able to play enough.
“And we feel it’s the thing that she needs the most now, we had three weeks of intensive practice on clay, so she is ready to play. And now she has to play matches, I think that’s the thing she needs the most.”
This decision has already got off to a positive start for Osaka, who dropped just three games in her opening match against Petra Marcinko.
Osaka will likely face a tougher test in her next match, as she takes on former top 50 player Diane Parry.
AloJapan.com