“It was really good times with Wim” – now coached by father, Naomi Osaka explains split with Wim Fissette
It will be all in the family for Osaka this summer. The four-time Slam champion will be coached by her father, Leonard Francois.
Naomi Osaka at the Miami Open in March 2022
Image Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic
Naomi Osaka is feeling healthy, positive and ready to kick off her North American hard court swing at San Jose this week, where she will faces China’s Zheng Qinwen in the opening round.
For the first time since the paired up, before the start of the 2020 season, Osaka will be without Belgian coach Wim Fissette by her side.
The 24-year-old four-time Grand Slam champion told reporters at Media day at San Jose that she has absolutely no hard feeling after splitting with the coach that guided her to her third and fourth major titles.
“It was really good times with Wim and he’s a really amazing coach,” Osaka told reporters at Media Day in San Jose, according to WTATennis.com. “We didn’t part on bad terms. I just felt I needed different energy, and at the same time, he’s a very ambitious guy. I was getting injured and I’m sure he would have wanted to go to Wimbledon.
“So it was two different mindsets, I would say. But he’s a really cool guy still. So confirming that there were no bad things happening.”
Osaka missed the grass season due to an Achilles flare-up which she suffered during the clay season. She owns a 12-5 season on the season with a final in her last hard-court appearance, at the Miami Open.
Osaka has not won a title on tour since the 2021 Australian Open.
Working with “head coach” and father Leonard Francois
Osaka’s father is in San Jose and currently serving as her coach. He was her primary coach in her formative years on tour, until 2018.
“I wanted to bring my dad back because he always makes me think outside the box,” Osaka said. “Whenever I think something is really bad he always makes me realize that things are much more positive than they seem.”
“For right now, he would be my main coach. I would give him that title.”
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