Naomi Osaka has revealed she was forced to evacuate from her hotel just hours before her second-round clash at the Canadian Open.
The four-time Grand Slam champion, who has found a new coach, kicked off her tournament with a commanding straight-sets victory over Ariana Arseneault, crushing the Canadian 6-4, 6-2. Her prize is a showdown against 13th seed Liudmila Samsonova, but Osaka’s preparation for the encounter was thrown into chaos when her hotel’s fire alarm sounded in the early morning hours.
Taking to social media to share her ordeal and disclosing which possession she quickly seized, Osaka posted: “POV: it’s the night before your match and the fire alarm tells you to evacuate so you grab your passport and go down 12 flights of stairs lol.”
The unwelcome disruption certainly wasn’t how the former world No. 1 would have preferred to gear up for her Samsonova battle, as she seeks to gain traction before the U.S. Open.
Osaka launched her hard-court season at the Mubadala Citi DC Open last week, but suffered elimination at the hands of a rejuvenated Emma Raducanu. Osaka has been battling poor form recently, managing only six victories throughout the WTA Tour’s clay and grass court seasons combined.
A shift back to hard courts will be embraced by Osaka, who made the choice to split from coach Patrick Mouratoglou and bring in Tomasz Wiktorowski as his replacement.
Taking to Instagram to express her appreciation, Osaka wrote: “Merci Patrick. 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.”
Reports suggest Wiktorowski, who previously coached Iga Swiatek, is poised to team up with Osaka on a trial arrangement as the tennis sensation searches for a new permanent coaching partnership. This marks Wiktorowski’s first role since splitting from Swiatek this fall, having previously steered his fellow Pole to the world No. 1 spot and four Grand Slam victories.
The accomplished coach claimed the WTA Coach of the Year honor in 2023 for his successful collaboration with Swiatek. Wiktorowski’s resume also includes a lengthy stint with Agnieszka Radwanska from 2011 to 2018.
Meanwhile at the Canadian Open, attention turns to the highly anticipated all-American showdown between Coco Gauff and Danielle Collins, while Swiatek faces off against Guo Hanyu in the second round. Raducanu, fresh from her straight-sets victory over Elena-Gabriela Ruse, will battle Peyton Stearns for a spot in the third round.
AloJapan.com