The mental work of an incredible skilled athlete often allows to catch ordinary people from the guard. How about a tennis player like four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1 tennis player Naomiosaka arrives where she questions her abilities?
Even with the greatest of all time, it always happens – a subset of the tennis species that longtime coach and tennis media imprezaglio Patrick Mouratoggle spent most of his career studying. He coached the best, Serena Williams, in many scenes of her biggest victory.
In September 2024, after giving birth to his daughter, Shy, three-quarters of the comeback season hired Mouratogou to replace Wim Fissette. Osaka reunited with Fisett (who coached her between 2019 and 2022) the previous summer and prepared to return to competitive tennis last January. At first, she was generous about the relationship between improvement and outcomes. When she came within the point where she defeated Iga Swiatek at last year's French Open, Osaka said “We're clearly not getting any results, but I think we're growing every tournament,” she said at a press conference.
When the outcome had not yet occurred, Osaka once again found himself struggling with confidence and decided to leave his coach who won two of these four grand slam titles.
The 27-year-old Osaka has yet to win any kind of title with Mouratoglou, but she's getting awfully close. She had to retire due to an abdominal injury when she faced Clara Towson in the final of the Auckland Classic in New Zealand in January.
“I had to believe in myself more,” said Osaka, at the Australian Open, after beating Karolina Man Varva, one of the world's most talented players who had eased the past four months ago, past Osaka at the same stage in the US. In Melbourne, Osaka was talking about returning to win the final two sets after losing the first 6-1, but she may have been talking about how she rediscovered her ability to pull a racket out of her swagger and enemy's hands.
It's not an accident.
In an interview from Los Angeles in February, Mouratoglow said she felt her beliefs were slipping off and was working to come up with ways to overcome them.
Patrick Mouratoggle and Naomi Osaka at the Australian opening in January. (David Gray via Getty Images/AFP)
“I'm confident in what I actually do every day,” Mouratoglou said.
After two weeks of hard training, Osaka will try to open its sw walk this week at BNP Paribas in Indian Wells, California.
In an interview, Mouratoglou, 54, said he hopes that players he calls will come to the court with an open mind every day and a hunger to try anything to get better.
All great people do.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
It's deeper
Gravity of Naomi Osaka and the US Superstars
How's her injury?
She has no pain anymore. We have served, slowly and gradually. She worked to ensure she wasn't injured again.
What is it like working with a player on her level? How does she compare to Serena Williams?
I'm not comparing anyone to Serena. Because of her potential, it is very exciting. She could win so many slams. Her motivation is very high. Tennis is a top priority and she is ready to come back forever.
How do you know if you suit her well?
I don't know if that's good or not. All players are different and you need to adapt as a coach.
Rather than some players who worked with people who are not at that level, when you are coaching a superstar, is that different?
It's very important when working with superstars who do the same thing as players are superstars. You need to talk to people in the usual way, just as she is a regular player. When they achieve so many things, they have certainty about what they do, but they must be open enough to continue to learn and grow. That's where Naomi is. She really wants to improve. She's really on advice and gives 100%. She's not scary. That's the way of a champion.
It's interesting that you say that. I would have thought that people who have won many wins in the past know how to do it again.
They are champions because they do what they need to improve. The ability to trust the people who work with them and tell them what to do and what they need. It makes them champions.
Rafa (Nadal) and Novak (Jjokovic), they have experienced so many technical changes. They see sports as racing. Everyone is improving. That's how Serena saw the world. If you're happy with what you have and don't try something new, you'll be overtaken by others. Progress comes from seeing which areas can be improved.
Why is Osaka better than last year?
Her confidence is much higher. This comes from what she did in practice. She practices very well. She pushes herself. Her game is consistent. Players need to know how they feel, even if they feel they are losing confidence. Previously, she didn't express it to herself. Most matches were lost because she stopped believing, and this is not allowed.
I'm practicing the game. She knows what she feels. We'll talk about it. We're working on it in that moment. It's okay to have that feeling, it's natural – there's no shame in being nervous. We need to be careful about that. It can affect you, but it can't affect you too much – Novak becomes super freedom and anger, but most importantly, its ability to return very quickly. Otherwise, you have lost points and points. You have the right to tense and lose confidence, but not too long, not too long.
I don't talk much during games except for small messages of encouragement. why?
There's not much to say unless she sees that she hasn't followed the plan in some way. I'll prepare before the match. The only thing I can do is support her.
In Muchova's match in Melbourne, Muchova was playing great and Naomi had a hard time reaching her level. I've seen it over the past year. When she was in trouble, her confidence level dropped significantly and she found out that the game was affected.
In her first tournament in China, she lost 20 games in a row when she lost her first set. This time, she didn't let her play with her mind what was going on in court. It is impossible to be unaffected by the score. They need to be influenced by their score. The problem is how much it affects you and affects you in ways that can harm you. You want to be influenced, but stay in control. Keep trusting what you're doing.
Was that what she did to Muchiba?
She stayed there mentally. You won't leave. No one plays perfectly from the first point to the end.
When you coached Serena, you played against Osaka. Have you shared your old game plan with her?
no. I don't want to strengthen my weak spots. Also, I don't think you'll win by remedying your mistakes. You prepare a solution and make your strengths better. If anyone has a good game plan to beat Jannik Sinner, I'd like to see it. Players at that level must catch them on certain days when there are weaknesses.
I want players to know how to turn their strengths into weapons. “What is my player's game style and how do I earn points?”
So, is Osaka's strengths at this point supposed to be her weapon?
When she's at the top of the game, she plays faster than anyone else. She makes it very difficult to organize the points for her. She'll come back with you with the ball in such a short time. When the ball touches the racket, it gets very fast to the other side of the net and she becomes very accurate by hitting the spot.
She also has great room for improvement. She can go back better, become more aggressive with her second serve and take better time from her opponent. The good thing is that she is very open to new ideas. Tell her what I thought when I arrived and told me she was very excited to go to work because she believed she would learn new things.
Naomi osaka is holding the Australian Open Trophy after the 2019 final. (Getty Images)
Is that the best thing to say to you?
absolutely. They forget that they achieved it a minute after they achieved it. Serena won the Wimbledon and the US Open in 2012, winning the Olympics and WTA Tour Finals. She walks out of court and tells me to come up with a plan to win the French Open. She says, “I've been following it for ten years. I want to beat Roland Garros, I want to make plans to win it.” (Williams won the 2013 French Open.)
The past is the past. It's important not to look at the past. “Let's move on. Always focus on the journey we want to go. It's Naomi now. She's very ambitious. She believes her story is still written. It's important because it only lasts a few minutes when she has a trophy. You have to be excited about what's next.
What has changed about tennis in recent years?
In general, fitness levels have been significantly improved. It's easy to explain. All top players travel with fitness coaches and physiotherapists. That was not true before. The players move very well. On the female side, (Alina) Sabalenka moves very well due to her height. And then Iga (Swiatek) and Coco (Gauff).
(Carlos) The Criminal, Alcaraz, how they act in court is crazy. Even people like Thomas Machuk. So hitting the winner is difficult to get the ball through the court. As Naomi continues to evolve like her, she can hit many winners again.
Naomi said she wasn't sure if you would actually be a good coach because you were coaching Serena, and wondered if Serena needed coaching. Can others doubt how much of an impact you will have when you are coaching these greatest greats of all time? How does that affect you?
Those who say that don't know what they're talking about. If I coach Naomi and she's something wrong, I'll hear about it. I don't take any particular pride in coaching champions. For me, I wouldn't have done a good job if I hadn't brought her to her top level.
(Top photo: David Gray/AFP via Getty Images)
