“I totally understand – it’s frustrating” – Coach Mouratoglou on Osaka’s hints about another hiatus

Naomi Osaka said recently that if her results and ranking don’t improve soon, she’s likely to stop playing altogether – and coach Patrick Mouratoglou completely understands why.

“I don’t think I’m the type of player that would hang around,” Osaka told reporters ahead of the Auckland Classic. “I have a lot of respect for all the players on tour, but the point of my life that I’m at right now, if I’m not above a certain ranking, I don’t see myself playing for a while.

“I’d rather spend time with my daughter if I’m not where I think I should be and where I feel like I can be.”

And in an exclusive response to Tennis Majors, Mouratoglou says he knows exactly where she’s coming from.

“When you’ve been a multiple Grand Slam winner, I think it’s very difficult mentally to be far from the level that you know you can play. Those players don’t play to be Top 50, Top 20, not even Top 10. They play for the big prize because they know they can, they have been able to, and I think it’s also true for all those champions who get older and start to struggle to win Grand Slams, it’s difficult for them to continue. They continue because they love the sport, but on the other hand it’s extremely frustrating.”

“It’s a question of time”

Osaka has previously taken lengthy breaks from the sport to recover her mental health as well as taking maternity leave to have her daughter Shai in 2023.

However, Mouratoglou was also quick to say that he thinks the former world No 1 will be back at the top of the game again soon.

“I see how much she wants it, I see how hard she works, I’m sure we’re doing the right things. It’s a question of time. She had a difficult season last year; she had a difficult three years, she had a baby and she had to get back into shape. Last year she had a lot of disappointments. We need to rebuild a few things. A lot of things are rebuilt already, but it’s a long-term process.

“I don’t see her playing to be Top 20. I don’t think she has this mindset that she wants to be there. She doesn’t want to be there. She wants to win, she wants to feel that she’s great at what she’s doing. I think that’s a good thing. If you accept being Top 20, there is no chance you’re going to win a Grand Slam. You have to refuse to be at a certain level because you deserve better or you think you’re able to do better. It’s not disrespectful for anybody else, it’s something between you and yourself. She is right to say that it’s not disrespectful to anyone. She feels she is capable to do that, she thinks she will be capable to do that in the future.

“She works in a way that she is able to achieve those things, so she either does it, or at some point if she feels she can’t any more, she’ll stop.”

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