Former Venus and Serena Williams coach, Rick Macci, took to social media to discuss Naomi Osaka’s recent form, stating that her change in coach was the key to her resurgence. The 27-year-old player was one of the biggest winners of the North American hardcourt swing, achieving her best results of the year after a significant change to her team.Osaka had been working since late 2024 with the renowned coach Patrick Mouratoglou—who had a long tenure with Serena Williams and has also coached other stars like Grigor Dimitrov, Simona Halep, and Holger Rune. However, they decided to part ways in late July, and results quickly started coming in again for Naomi Osaka.
The four-time major champion had spent years trying to regain her rhythm. After winning the 2021 Australian Open, her level declined, and a year later, she took a mental health break from her career while struggling with her results. Shortly after, she announced she was pregnant, extending her time away from the courts.
The Japanese player returned in early 2024, and despite alternating some good results, she couldn’t regain her top ranking until she teamed up with Tomasz Wiktorowski.
A New Partnership
The former world No. 1 joined Patrick Mouratoglou in October 2024, after a year with Wim Fisette where she failed to take off. The partnership with the French coach—a former Serena Williams coach—didn’t quite work out. She reached the top 50 but didn’t make a significant leap in quality.
About a month ago, Osaka announced the end of her relationship with Mouratoglou after 10 months of working together, following her loss in the round of 16 at the DC Open to Emma Raducanu. The Japanese player then hired Tomasz Wiktorowski—former coach of Iga Świątek—and her level and results quickly improved in the only two tournaments they have worked together.
Wiktorowski joined Osaka for her debut at the Canadian Open in Montreal. The partnership immediately paid off, as Osaka had her best performance in years, reaching the tournament final. She defeated four top-25 rivals on her way there before falling to 19-year-old rising star Victoria Mboko in the final.
The boost in confidence from Montreal led to good results for Osaka at the US Open, where she reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in four years. She defeated rivals like Daria Kasatkina (No. 15), Coco Gauff (No. 3), and Karolina Muchova (No. 11), but was eliminated by Amanda Anisimova in a three-set battle in the semifinals.
Osaka has a record of 11-2 since joining Wiktorowski, reaching the final at the Canadian Open and semifinals at the US Open.
Both of these major tournaments—in which the Japanese player achieved 11 wins and 2 losses—gave her a significant boost in the rankings, where she reached world No. 14, her first time in the top 15 since January 2022. For Rick Macci, the former coach of the Williams sisters, the coaching change was the necessary push for the Japanese player to bring out her best level.
“Change is very important when you’re struggling and you have as much talent as anybody on tour. One action can improve your on-court reaction,” he posted on social media. “Osaka got a new focused accurate voice and Right Away on court you saw a better choice. She got smarter quicker and faster played free and avoided disaster. The mind is a muscle that you need to train and now Naomi is winning with her skill set and Brain.”
Change is very important when your struggling and you have as much talent as anybody on tour. One action can improve your on court reaction. Osaka got a new focused accurate voice and Right Away on court you saw a better choice. She got smarter quicker and faster played free and…
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) September 21, 2025
Osaka is currently ranked No. 14 in the live WTA rankings and in the same position in the Race. She is still a significant distance—more than 1,300 points—from the top 10, but she can continue to rise in the final part of the season, especially considering she is not defending many points.
The former No. 1 will compete in the WTA 1000 Beijing Open and Wuhan Open in the coming weeks before traveling to her native Osaka for the WTA 500 Japan Open. The Japanese player will be looking to continue adding good results to start 2026 in a good ranking position, and she has already secured a seeded position in the most important tournaments of the first half of 2026.
AloJapan.com