Naomi Osaka suffered a heartbreaking first round defeat at the French Open this year.
Osaka showed promising signs on clay prior to the French Open, that included winning her first ever title on the surface.
However, the former world number one was handed a nightmare first round draw at the Paris major against 10th seed Paula Badosa.
Despite winning the first set of the match, Osaka lost in three sets to Badosa and was in tears during her post-match press conference.
Serena Williams’ former coach tells Naomi Osaka what she needs to do next
In this post-match press conference, Osaka spoke about her coach Patrick Mouratoglou and how she felt guilty for letting him down after he coached Serena Williams for 10 years.
“I hate disappointing people,” said Osaka. “Even with Patrick (Mouratoglou) I was thinking just now that he goes from working with like the greatest player ever to like… what the f*** this is. You know what I mean? Sorry for cursing. I hope I don’t get fined.”
Someone else who knows what it is like to coach Serena Williams is Rick Macci, who believes Osaka can return to the top 10 of the WTA rankings.
However, after her latest defeat to Badosa, Macci has suggested that Osaka may need to reassess her current mentality.
“Osaka needs to take a step back to go many steps forward,” Macci said on X (formerly known as Twitter). “She has the firepower and the pedigree but mentally as a competitor and world class athlete she needs to look at everything thru a different lens and never feel she is letting down friends.”
Many top tennis players including Iga Swiatek now have a psychologist, and this is something that Macci believes would help Osaka to move forward.
“Osaka needs to talk to a Mental Expert Coach who can explain the ART OF THE REFRAME,” Macci added. “The brain is a muscle and it has to be trained properly and constantly moulded. She is caught in a MENTAL LOOP but with the proper mental training can get back in the winners Group.”
What is next for Naomi Osaka?
After a busy clay court season, Osaka now has a couple of weeks to regroup ahead of turning her attention to grass courts.
Grass has traditionally been a surface that Osaka has struggled on, with the four-time Grand Slam champion winning just three of her six matches on it last year.
Osaka will begin her grass court season at Queen’s, as the WTA Tour returns to the iconic venue for the first time in 52 years.
The Japanese star will then play another WTA 500 level tournament in Berlin, after receiving a wildcard for both tournaments ahead of Wimbledon.
It could be an opportunity for world number 49 Osaka to climb the rankings, with just 125 points to defend on grass from last year.
