Naomi Osaka is now widely considered the new face of the WTA Tour. While now it is easy to understand why Osaka is so popular, that was not so obvious in the past. Tennis is full of bright upcoming and talented players, but then it is impossible to understand who will blossom.
Naomi Osaka’s coach
During an interview in Australia, Naomi Osaka’s coach Wim Fissette revealed when he was truly stunned by Osaka. That was back in 2016 in Tokyo when he was partnering with Petra Kvitova. Later, Wim confessed he was surprised by how cool Naomi Osaka was when she was serving for the title in Indian Wells in 2018 against Daria Kasatkina. That was by far the most important moment of her young career up to that moment and she didn’t blink
“In Tokyo in 2016 I had a trial period with Petra Kvitova. I saw Naomi there and I was extremely impressed with what I saw. I didn’t see the cold-bloodedness, which might be her biggest strength now, but the progress was huge and I was expecting big things in 2017,” said Fissette.
“She kind of slowed down a bit though, until she made that big jump in 2018 by winning Indian Wells, her first tournament win.
You could sense how special she was when she stayed incredibly cool when serving for the title. That was a WOW-moment and I started thinking that if you could combine her strokes with that cold-bloodedness and some tactics, she could become a really big one.”
Naomi Osaka is back in the US after she won the Australian Open. She decided not to play the Middle East swing in Doha and Dubai and she is widely expected to make her comeback in Miami (22nd of March).
Naomi Osaka in 2021
Currently ranked no.2, Naomi played her last match on the 20th of February when she overcame Jennifer Brady 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open to win her 7th career title.
This year the Japanese has a 10-0 record. Osaka clinched 1 title at the Australian Open.
