Naomi Osaka won the Australian Open and ranked number one at the beginning of the year. The 21-year-old, however, had some poor performances at the French Open and Wimbledon, losing in the early stages of the competitions. She had a respectable showing at the US Open last month but she did not make it past the Round of 16. The Japanese star has made two coaching changes this year. Her latest came in September when she parted ways with Jermaine Jenkins. Her father Leonard Francois is currently coaching her.
How Osaka’s father met her mother Tamaki
Francois met his wife Tamaki Osaka while visiting Japan. The Haitian had been studying in college in New York while Naomi’s was in high school in Hokkaido. The two grew fond of each other and eventually decided to get married. The couple’s daughters were born in Japan. Their first-born, Maria, was born on 3rd April 1996, while Naomi was born on 16th October 1997. The family relocated back to the United States when Naomi was 3-years-old.
The Williams sisters, trained by their father Richard Williams, inspired Francois to encourage his daughters to play tennis. Her father took an active role in coaching his two daughters and later introduced them to other tennis coaches. The parents decided that their daughters would represent Japan despite growing up in Florida.
Leonard Francois coaching Naomi again
Following her victory at the Australian Open, Naomi parted ways with her coach at the time Sascha Bajin. The two had enjoyed a lot of success together. He had overseen her rise to the top and helped her win two Grand Slam titles. She hired Jermaine Jenkins in February. While the pair had a good working relationship, results on the court were not impressive. The 21-year-old suffered defeat in the third round in the French Open to Katerina Siniakova. Her results did not improve at Wimbledon. She suffered another disappointing result, losing to Yulia Putintseva in the first round. She improved at the US Open, but couldn’t get past Belinda Bencic in the round of 16. Following her poor outings in Grand Slam tournaments, she parted ways with Jenkins in September. Her father is now coaching her on a temporary basis.
The 2-time Grand Slam champion has enjoyed success since making the coaching change. She won the Toray Pacific Open in Japan last month. The former world number one won the title without dropping a set. She is currently in action at the China Open in Beijing.
Osaka in Beijing, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.4, Naomi has a 36-11 win-loss record in 2019. Naomi is now playing in Beijing where she bested Jessica Pegula 6-3 7-65, Andrea Petkovic 6-2 6-0 and Alison Riske 6-4 6-0.
Osaka 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 |
| Embed from Getty Images |
