Naomi Osaka’s return to the apex of the sport has been a long and arduous journey.
After all, when she returned to tennis at the start of 2024, even she would not have expected it to take this long.
The 27-year-old announced her break to give birth to her first child in 2023, coming after she had won her first four Grand Slam titles.
She was on top of the world and a genuine threat at any event she entered.
Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images
So, when she returned with a brand-new body and fresh challenges to face, it must have been so frustrating for Naomi Osaka to consistently lose to players she would have crushed years earlier.
Fortunately, it finally seems like she’s back where she belongs. For that, she certainly. has Tomasz Wiktorowski to thank.
Lindsay Davenport praises Naomi Osaka’s coach
After all, whilst she did make slight progress with Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach, the Polish tactician has revolutionised her game and re-established her as a genuine threat for Grand Slam titles.
Osaka’s win over Coco Gauff last night at the US Open has once again solidified that notion, despite the outstanding struggles of the 21-year-old.
Mary Carilo, speaking on The Tennis Podcast, sought to analyse the key issues faced by the youngster: “Honestly, I thought it was gonna go like this, because Osaka’s form and because of Coco’s form. You know, Coco’s… I felt bad for her, not terrible for her, because she did serve better, but the fact that she won a major just a couple of months ago, and now she kind of feels like she’s got to get her game down to the studs. I’m kind of thinking, like, what took her so long? You know what I mean?
“I’m not saying that she’s not doing well enough, because of course she’s doing great and she’s a nice kid. But you can’t have those grips. They’re sort of criminal grips. And for her to, I mean, obviously she can win on clay and she can win on hard when she’s confident.
But when she’s lacking that, she’s got nowhere to go.”
However, she then turned her attention to Osaka, and actually cited Lindsay Davenport by noting: “I was lucky, I called the match with Lindsay Davenport beside me, and she said right away that Tomasz Wiktorowski was going to give Osaka so much clarity. The guy’s a great tactician.
“I can tell when Lindsay thinks highly of coaches and when she doesn’t, because we’ll show a picture of some coach and she just kind of rolls her eyes. It’s awesome. And she won’t even say the guy’s name.
‘But she jumped in on Tomasz Wiktorowski. And again, that Osaka can play with so much clarity and Coco doesn’t have that right now. That’s kind of what I expected.”
Following her defeat, Gauff has made a promise to tennis fans about what she plans to do in the future to avoid another beatdown like this one.
Naomi Osaka’s results since hiring Tomasz Wiktorowski
Since hiring Wiktorowski, Osaka has looked so impressive.
However, their union did not start perfectly, losing in just the second round to Emma Raducanu in Washington.
Despite this coming during their trial period, the Japanese tennis star was clearly impressed by what she was learning in such a short space of time.
That notion was only emphasised as she stormed to the final of the Canadian Open, and would celebrate by making their partnership permanent.
Osaka has since reached the quarter-finals of the US Open and is many people’s new favourite to actually challenge for the title.
How Wiktorowski has helped to shift the narrative around the four-time Grand Slam champion in such a short space of time is so impressive, and he is rightly garnering praise.
AloJapan.com