Pickleball has now become one of the fastest-growing sports in America. The paddle sport has been rapidly gaining popularity among sports lovers and guess what? We’ve seen several icons from the tennis world, like Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and several others raising their hands up to try this sport. Recently, we even saw tennis legend, Ivan Lendl, in the Daytona Beach Open pickleball tournament. Lendl even talked about his experience of playing this rapidly growing sport. Now, Naomi Osaka’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou also shared a glimpse of his pickleball session on his IG story.

Talking about his experience in this paddle sport, Ivan Lendl said, “I’m a little too old to play tennis and I run too much, so I picked up the doubles and half of a pickleball court. I liked it. At first, I hated it too, but then I played a few times and changed my mind.” What did Naomi Osaka’s coach say about his recent pickleball session?

Patrick Mouratoglou recently shared glimpses of a pickleball match at the scenic Beverly Hills. In a video clip uploaded by Mouratoglou on his IG stories, he was spotted making loud grunts during the match. He highlighted that hilarious moment in his post with the caption, “Pickle ball day. I am too loud though…” After seeing this massive craze for pickleball among tennis lovers, fans have now started to wonder if its massive popularity will overshadow tennis in the upcoming years. What does Naomi Osaka’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou think of this prospect though?

Well, during a previous interview, Mouratoglou was asked a similar question and his reply was, “There is a war between tennis and pickleball. Pickleball and paddle are new sports coming up and they’re kind of competing with tennis for some people. I think nothing will replace ever tennis because it’s probably ten times more physical than any of those sports.“

Not only, Mouratogloou we even saw Andre Agassi speak about the same in a previous interview. According to Agassi, “Not only can they both play nice in the sandbox, but I think they can enhance one another. Anybody that loves pickleball loves to play. Anybody that loves tennis loves to play but also loves to watch.” He further added, “There are a lot of tennis clubs that don’t get used enough. That, they can convert half pickleball, and then all of a sudden it (may) bring tennis clubs alive again…Pickleball, on the other hand, requires much less space. I believe pickleball will continue to grow fast, but I don’t think it will cannibalize tennis in any way.“

We’re just a few days away from the New Year and guess what? 2025 is going to be big for these two tennis icons! Andre Agassi is currently gearing up to team up with his wife Steffi Graf at the Pickleball Slam 3 which is scheduled to take place on February 2025. On the other hand, Patrick Mouratoglou has a massive task in hand for the next season. Fans are eagerly waiting to see if this Frenchman can do wonders and bring Naomi Osaka closer to winning a major title in the 2025 season. What does he have to say about Osaka’s chances in the big events next year, though?

Patrick Mouratoglou says Naomi Osaka is extremely motivated to win more major titles in her career

Naomi Osaka has won four Grand Slam titles in her career. However, her last major triumph came three years ago at the AO. So, she’ll be keen to pull things back on track as soon as possible in the 2025 season. In this season, although we saw a glimpse of her classy tennis in some of the matches, Osaka failed to maintain that consistency throughout the year. Reflecting on that in a previous interview, Patrick Mouratoglou said, “For a long time she has not been able to play her best tennis.“

He further added, “That is my challenge, to bring her back to her best level and if possible even better. You never know when exactly things all click together. The only thing you know is that it will happen at some time. You have to believe in it but you don’t know when.” What’s the next goal for them now? Well, in reply to this, the Frenchman said that the first big goal of them will be the 2025 AO. “That is the next big thing and we will do everything that is possible to perform already Down Under,” said Naomi Osaka’s coach.

After having gone through a few starts and stops, can Naomi Osaka bring back her golden days yet again? “She’s extremely motivated to come back and win Grand Slams, and it’s a pleasure for me because that’s the dream of every coach: to have a player who has that level of motivation,” said Patrick Mouratoglou. Do you think Mouratoglou can bring success to the Japanese camp in 2025?