Naomi Osaka says she is at a stage in life where she “does not want to have regrets”, after hiring Patrick Mouratoglou as her new coach.
Japan’s Osaka beat Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-3 6-2 at the China Open in her first match with Mouratoglou – formerly the long-time coach of Serena Williams – in her corner.
The fact that he was Serena’s coach made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big,” she said.
“This isn’t rude because I found out it’s not true, but I didn’t know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena.
“Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach.”
Osaka made her return from maternity leave in January but has struggled for consistency since.
She has reached the quarter-finals in only two of the 16 tournaments she has played this season and has not gone past the second round of a Grand Slam.
“I think I’m at a stage in my life that I don’t want to have regrets,” Osaka said of working with Mouratoglou.
“I’d rather pull the trigger on something and I don’t want to say ‘fail’, but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career.
“I try not to get into relationships with people for the short term. I try to think of it as a long-term commitment.”
Osaka is next in action against 21st seed Yulia Putintseva in the second round in Beijing.
The 26-year-old split with Wim Fisette, who she won two of her four Grand Slam titles with, earlier in September.
Osaka said she was initially hesitant about working with Mouratoglou.
