Jon Wertheim says that Naomi Osaka’s split with Patrick Mouratoglou after just 10 months of collaboration is not a ‘huge surprise, given that the four-time Grand Slam champion ‘doesn’t have confidence.’
The renowned sports journalist and commentator weighed in on the high-profile separation, whilst speaking on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.
Osaka and Mouratoglou began their on-court relationship after an early defeat at the 2024 US Open, with inconsistent results in the period since.
During their collaboration, she lifted her first clay-court title at the WTA 125 event in Saint-Malo and reached the final of the Auckland Open in Jannuary.
“I don’t think this was a huge surprise,” the Tennis Channel contributor stated.
“This has been a relationship of less than a year. Osaka has won a fair amount of matches, but not at the biggest and best events.
“She just took a loss to Emma Raducanu in Washington, her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was not there. I think some of this is about results and some of this is about logistics.
“Patrick has got his hand in a million pots and is promoting a book and is doing the tennis showdown. Naomi is based in Miami and Patrick is an ocean away in Nice.
“Patrick is also a guy who pumps a player up with confidence, I think he is much better known for that than any tactical expertise and I think if a player doesn’t have confidence, as Naomi doesn’t appear to have much of right now, I am not sure what the relationship is all about.”
“Merci Patrick,” the 27-year-old wrote to social media, making the separation official.
“It was such a great experience learning from you. Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
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However, it didn’t take long for the four-time Grand Slam champion to find a replacement for the renowned coach – adding Tomasz Wiktorowski on a trial basis.
The Pole worked with Agnieszka Radwanska from 2011-2018 and, more recently, with Iga Swiatek for a three-year period in which the current world No 3 won four of her six Grand Slams.
Osaka and Wiktorowski’s first tournament working together is the Canadian Open, with the former already winning her first-round match against Ariana Arseneault 6-4, 6-2.
The former world No 1 will be hoping for a longer-term relationship, having wished for such a collaboration at the time of joining forces with Mouratoglou in September 2024.
“I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets,” said Osaka, at the time.
“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.
“I try not to get into relationships with people for the short term. I try to think of it as a long-term commitment.”
AloJapan.com