Naomi Osaka finally announces her new coach: Wim Fissette!
This is the 4th coach that will partner with Naomiduring her tribulated year. In fact, the Japanese sensation started the season with Sascha Bajin (1st coach), but then something broke, and they parted ways. Later, Naomi hired Jermaine Jenkins (2nd coach), but the results were not as good as expected. After the US Open, Naomi was coached by her own father (3rd coach), and that was quite successful as they won 2 consecutive titles (Osaka, Beijing). However, Naomi has always stated that that was just temporary and she would have hired a new coach. Therefore she chose to partner with Wim Fissette (4th coach).
Who is Wim Fissette
The Belgian is an extremely experienced coach that has worked with the likes of Clijsters, Lisicki, Halep, Azarenka, Kvitova, Errani, Konta, and Kerber. He achieved the best results as a coach with Clijsters winning 2 US Open, 1 Australian Open and the WTA Finals. He also won Wimbledon with Angelique Kerber.
He is definitely a fantastic choice for Naomi that is expected to produce solid results. Probably the only question mark is the fact that usually, his collaborations do not last much.
His last experience was with Vika Azarenka, but the Belarussian has “mysteriously” renounced to play during the Australian Summer for personal reasons.
The announcement
For once, the announcement didn’t come with the now ritual post of the player and the coach smiling on social media, but it was done privately to Osaka‘s sponsors. Later it was confirmed by her management company.
This partnership didn’t really come as a surprise as Naomi and Wim have been already training together for several days and that didn’t go unnoticed.
WTA news:
Naomi Osaka's management confirms she is now working with coach Wim Fissette, who has led several WTA players to big successes in recent years.
Fissette was introduced privately to Osaka's sponsors at her partner retreat at the Riviera Club in Los Angeles last week.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) December 14, 2019
Elina Svitolina confirms Baghdatis as her coach. Will Naomi Osaka officialize Wim Fissette?
Naomi Osaka’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.3, Naomi played her last match on the 27th of October when she defeated Petra Kvitova 7-61 4-6 6-4 in the round robin in Shenzhen.
This year the Japanese has a 40-11 win-loss record. Osaka clinched 3 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Osaka and in Beijing.
Simona Halep’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.4, Simona played her last match on the 1st of November when she surrendered to Karolina Pliskova 6-0 2-6 6-4 in the round robin in Shenzhen.
This year Halep has a 39-17 win-loss record. The Romanian has won 1 title in Wimbledon. The Romanian was the finalist in Doha and in Madrid.
Naomi Osaka and Simona Halep played each other 5 times. The head to head is 4-1 for Halep.
The last time that they played, Simona Halep won 6-1 6-0 in the 2nd round in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) in May 2018.
Angelique Kerber’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.20, Kerber played her last match on the 1st of October when she had to surrender to Polona Hercog 6-4 6-2 in the 2nd round in Beijing.
Angelique Kerber’s best performance of the current season was getting to the final in Indian Wells and Eastbourne.
Victoria Azarenka’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.50, Victoria played her last match on the 27th of August when she was overcome by Aryna Sabalenka 3-6 6-3 6-4 in the 1st round in U.S. Open.
Victoria Azarenka’s best performance of the present year was reaching the final in Monterrey.
Angelique Kerber and Victoria Azarenka played each other 10 times. The head to head is 9-1 for Azarenka.
The last time that they played each other, Simona Halep won 6-4 4-6 6-1 in the semifinal in Monterrey (Abierto GNP Seguros) THE 06th OF April 2019.
