“If I coach Naomi and she doesn’t do something well, I’m going to hear about it. I take no special pride in coaching champions. For me, if I don’t bring her to her top level, I didn’t do a good job,” Patrick Mouratoglou said in March. It appears that the moment has come. Naomi Osaka has ended her partnership with her coach Mouratoglou, less than a year after hiring him to guide her post-maternity comeback.

Osaka had reunited with Wim Fissette, the coach who guided her to two of her four Grand Slam titles, last year in January. However, in September, when the results failed to meet expectations, she decided to part ways with the familiar figure in her corner. That’s when Patrick Mouratoglou entered, with a resume that included guiding Serena Williams to 10 of her 23 Grand Slams from 2012 to 2022. It renewed hope for Osaka’s comeback.

And it did begin with promise. In January this year, she reached the final of the Auckland Classic, her first final since 2022, but retired after the first set due to an abdominal injury. The same issue resurfaced at the Australian Open, where she retired in the third round against Belinda Bencic. The French Open brought further disappointment. Osaka lost in the opening round to Paula Badosa despite taking the first set. The loss hit hard as she broke down in tears during her post-match press conference. Hoping to turn a new leaf at Wimbledon, she made it to the third round but fell to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets. Losing in Washington to Emma Raducanu on hardcourts, her favorite surface, seemed to be the last straw for her.

It seems a string of these stinging losses has led to a tough decision. The 4-time Grand Slam champion announced the split on her Instagram Story, writing: “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 🙏🏾”

Though their campaign together was met with losses on the big stage, there was a silver lining. After an early exit at the Mutua Madrid Open, Naomi Osaka took an unconventional route to find her footing on clay. A step down in level, Challengers-style, saw her enter the WTA 125K event in Saint-Malo. The gamble paid off, as the Japanese star went on to win her first title since returning to the tour as a mother in 2023.

But consistency remained out of reach. The uncertainty on court mirrored something deeper off it.

Naomi Osaka hinted at retirement after a string of losses

Just days after her third-round loss at Wimbledon, Naomi Osaka shared a quiet moment that left a lasting mark. She spoke about a conversation with her father, Leonard Francois, who told her, “At 59 years old, I feel closer to the end of my life than the beginning, and it’s made me want to enjoy and treasure the years he has left.”

What struck the former World No.1 was how closely that feeling mirrored her tennis career. Her rise was meteoric. Osaka stunned the tennis world in 2018 when she beat Serena Williams to win the US Open. She followed it up with a second major in Melbourne in 2019, then lifted the US Open trophy again in 2020. Her fourth Grand Slam title came in Australia the following year.

“When I was younger my dream was to hold the US Open trophy… Miraculously, I have two of those trophies now,” she said. But since returning to the tour in January 2025, the journey has felt far less certain but her father’s words have shifted her perspective. “Somehow I let my expectations of myself and the expectations of others prevent me from enjoying the rest of my journey, no matter how long or short it may be,” Osaka admitted.

Now, for the first time in over a year, she’s going into a tournament without a coach in her corner. Naomi Osaka will play next in Montreal tomorrow as she faces home hope Ariana Arseneault. Can this coaching change bring some good news ahead of the US Open?