Naomi Osaka has responded to difficulties faced during her comeback by splitting with her coach, Wim Fissette, for a second time.
Osaka returned at the start of 2024 after being away on maternity leave. She re-hired Fissette, who had worked with her from the beginning of 2020 until the middle of 2022.
The move caused controversy because Fissette was working with Qinwen Zheng but decided to end their partnership to resume coaching Osaka. The Chinese player was enraged that Fissette chose to leave her.
Since returning, Osaka has shown flashes of excellence. One example was her comprehensive US Open first-round win against Jelena Ostapenko. Osaka was in tears after her first US Open win in three years.
However, her inconsistency since returning to the sport was demonstrated in the next round. She suffered a brutal loss in the following round despite being 5-4 to 40-0 up in the second set against Karolina Muchova.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was never going to immediately return to her best after being away from the sport for so long, but there were hopes that she could peak during the US Open after getting up to speed again in the opening months of the year.
Osaka was unable to do that, though. The Japanese star has decided that continuing to work with Fissette for the rest of the year and in 2025 is unlikely to improve the situation, choosing to split with the Belgian.
Osaka began working with Fissette in January 2020. She won that year's US Open with the 44-year-old as her coach, beating Victoria Azarenka in the final, who Fissette coached before joining Osaka.
The former world No. 1 followed her triumph at Flushing Meadows by securing her second Australian Open title at the start of 2021. Osaka and Fissette's partnership was firing on all cylinders, and more success seemed inevitable.
But things became more difficult during the second half of 2021. Osaka could not find her blistering best and began to struggle consistently. Despite this, she retained Fissette as her coach for the 2022 season.
Unfortunately, Osaka's level continued to decline during 2022. After an early exit from the French Open and being injured during the grass-court season, she and Fissette parted ways before the North American hard-court season.
Osaka hoped to rekindle the success they initially had when she re-hired Fissette for this season. Things have not gone as well as they hoped, though, and the pair have split for a second time.
The split appears to be amicable. In her statement announcing they were no longer working together, Osaka made complimentary remarks about Fissette, praising his qualities as a coach and a person.
"4 years, two slams and a whole lot of memories. Thanks Wim for being a great coach and an even greater person, wishing you all the best."
Fissette has worked with several players, including helping Angelique Kerber win the 2018 Wimbledon Championships. His impressive track record means he will likely coach another player soon, whether on the ATP or WTA Tour.
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