As one of the world’s top tennis players, Naomi Osaka faces a lot of pressure to perform well during her games. The pressure can cause a lot of physical, mental and emotional stress that can affect how she plays. Thankfully, she has her own father, Leonard Francois, beside her to help with the pressure that she feels.
Osaka recently revealed just how important her father is to her training sessions. The 21-year old Japanese player remarked that it is her father who knows her game best because he has been with her since her childhood.
It’s not rocket science
The world No. 4 describes her father’s talent of knowing the effects of words on someone. She confirmed that her father has “magic words” that he will say to help motivate her better. The magic words are “It’s not rocket science,” which helps trigger her competitiveness as a player.
Naomi Osaka and her previous coaches
Osaka has the chance to spend more time with her father in the next months. The former world no. 1 recently confirmed that her father will train her while she is looking for a new coach. The player will be spending the period between the tennis seasons to look for a coach that she will have chemistry with.
The 21-year old shared it was “nostalgic” for her to work with her father again. She described that during her previous coaching engagements, her father chose to blend into the background.
It can be remembered that Osaka parted ways with coach Jermaine Jenkins after she lost the U.S. Open last month. While the Japanese phenomenon and Jenkins worked hard on her training, she has not reached any tournament finals since he took over coaching duties.
Jenkins was Osaka’s second coach for the calendar year after she fired Sascha Bajin in February. The coach’s dismissal was controversial because it was a rather ugly split. However, the two chose not to share the details of the separation publicly.
Osaka’s relationship with fans and tennis audiences
The Japanese may not be performing as well in tournaments since her Australian Open win, the Japanese player’s personality forms a big part of why she remains popular. One of the most notable moments during August’s U.S. Open is her joint post-match interview with 15-year old star Coco Gauff.
Osaka is especially famous in Japan, where has become a phenomenon. The “Naomi Fever” has swept the nation of 120 million people, resulting in multiple partnerships and endorsement deals for her. Her popularity is said to have helped tennis become a more mainstream sport in the country too.
Osaka in Beijing, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.4, Naomi has a 35-11 win-loss record in 2019. The Japanese is competing in Beijing where she bested Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-65 and Andrea Petkovic 6-2 6-0.
Osaka will play Riske in the 3rd round. The head to head is 1-0 for Riske.
The last time that they fought against each other, Riske won 7-5 3-2 ret. in the qualifications in Madrid in April 2016.
The Japanese has won 2 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open and in Osaka.
Osaka won 4 titles in her career: 4 on hard courts. (See the list of her titles)
Naomi Osaka |
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