Osaka Gives Verdict On Working With Swiatek's Ex-Coach During Best Run Since Comeback

Monday, 04 August 2025 at 17:18

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byErik Virostko

Naomi Osaka is on her best run since making a comeback, and part of the credit also goes to her new coach.

Osaka has tried multiple things since returning to the tennis courts as a mother last year. She has returned to the Top 50, but obviously, as a four-time Grand Slam champion and a former World No. 1 player, she wants more.

The 27-year-old wants to challenge for the Grand Slam titles again, and she wants to be in the Top 10 of the rankings. To get closer to reaching that goal, she started working with Patrick Mouratoglou. That partnership ended recently, and Osaka hired a new coach.

Osaka started working with Tomasz Wiktorowski, who is best known for coaching Iga Swiatek. The two parted ways last year in October, and since then, the Polish coach hasn't been active.

That changed when the current World No. 49 player approached him, and their first week together has been a great success. Osaka won four consecutive matches at the WTA 1000 event in Montreal, something she has managed to do only twice since coming back, once at a WTA 125 event and once at a WTA 250 tournament.

Therefore, this is her best run since returning to competition, as the strength of the field she had to face was much tougher, beating the likes of Jelena Ostapenko and Liudmila Samsonova on her way to setting up a quarter-final meeting with Elina Svitolina.

Speaking during her press conference after an impressive 6-1, 6-0 win over Anastasija Sevastova, Osaka mentioned her coach Wiktorowski, whom she praised for his direct approach.

"Honestly, I think for me what's working well is I am very confident in my fitness. I'm really comfortable just getting balls back now, and I really enjoy Tomasz. I don't know if to say his name is 'Thomas' or 'Tomasz.' I'm so sorry. But I enjoy his coaching style. He's very direct and to the point. For someone like me, who my thoughts scatter around often, it's very helpful."

Naomi Osaka admits she doesn't "want it as bad" as she used to

Apart from talking about her coach during her press conference, Osaka also spoke about her motivation. She was asked whether she allowed herself to celebrate this achievement, and she answered that she did.

At the same time, she surprised with her answer, when she mentioned that she feels like she doesn't "want it as bad" anymore.

"Honestly, I am allowing myself to enjoy it, and I think for me it's kind of ironic just because I don't find myself it's really hard to describe, but I don't want it as bad, which is kind of weird to say."

"I'm kind of just allowing myself to I guess see what the results of my practicing is and, like, all that other jazz. I'm happy with where my tennis will take me no matter what happens."

Naomi Osaka explains how Serena Williams motivated her to be a good server

Osaka's serve is a real weapon, as she is one of the best-serving players on the WTA Tour. In fact, only Elena Rybakina, Linda Noskova, and Clara Tauson have hit more aces than the Japanese player this year.

On top of that, no one wins more points after their first serve than Osaka does. She wins 74% of the points after landing her first serve inside the box, something that really helps her to win 78.7% of her service games.

Asked about her serve during her press conference in Montreal, Osaka explained that legendary Serena Williams was her idol when it came to serving. She remembers the American hitting aces when it mattered.

"I don't know. I think for me I just grew up in an era of watching Serena, and she would be down Love 40 and hit four aces. I still think about that sometimes when I play. I also feel like it doesn't have to be an ace. I just have to hit a really good serve and see what happens, because off the baseline, I still think I'm one of the better players, so..."