"Absolutely necessary to have this admiration"- Naomi Osaka's coach Patrick Mouratoglou makes feelings clear about important aspect while mentoring

Serena Williams' former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, recently gave his two cents on coaching Naomi Osaka. The Frenchman maintained that 'admiring' a tennis player and feeling a sense of authority in the relationship go hand-in-hand. He also looked back on his journey with the former World No. 1 as he insisted that the way she practices has completely changed under him.

Osaka hired Mouratoglou as her coach in September 2024 in her comeback season from maternity leave. The 27-year-old has since enjoyed favorable results under the veteran coach, which include finishing runner-up at the ASB Classic in January and triumphing at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo, France.

Naomi Osaka's coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who previously guided Serena Williams to 10 Major titles between 2012-2021, took to Instagram to talk about how important it is for a coach to think highly of their ward's tennis game. The 55-year-old added that he wouldn't offer his services to a player whom he didn't admire.

"I think it's absolutely necessary to have this admiration for your player, because the player is going to feel it every second. I don't think it's contradictory to be admiring a player and in a position of authority at the same time," Naomi Osaka's coach Patrick Mouratoglou said in an Instagram reel. "I think you can do both. I would never work with a player if I don't admire that player. And if you look at Naomi for example, that I work with at the moment, I admire her a lot. I think she's an incredible player. When I watch her play, incredible feeling of pleasure because I love her game."

Mouratoglou further claimed that taking Osaka's game "to the next level" was one of his primary goals.

"I think it's very important, and it doesn't take away the authority... I know what it's going to take to go to the next level. And I drive her to the next destination. And I know we're not that far," he added.

Naomi Osaka is currently ranked 56th on the WTA rankings.

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"Naomi Osaka has done a great job to make sure that she stays injury-free" - Patrick Mouratoglou

Patrick Mouratoglou recounted how far Naomi Osaka had come in the last few years. The Frenchman claimed that she had bridged a gap "in terms of intensity" while also singing praises about her ability to handle matches.

"She was very much injured in the past, she's done a great job to make sure that she stays injury free," Mouratoglou said. "And I can see how much she progressed on the physical side. The way she practices now compared to a few months ago, she went to another level in terms of intensity. How she handles the matches is also better," he added.

Osaka is currently in poor form as she has not qualified beyond the round of 16 in any WTA 1000 event this year. Most recently, she reached the second round of this week's Bad Homburg Open, where she went out to World No. 10 Emma Navarro in straight sets.

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Edited by Anisha Chatterjee