Patrick Mouratoglou decided to tell a little story about the time when one of Serena Williams' comments made him realize the best with what type of champion mindset the American had.
In 2002, Williams lifted her maiden French Open title. Although she had been one of the most dominant players in the next decade, the American's next triumph at Roland Garros didn't come until 2013, when she defeated Maria Sharapova in the final. At the time, she was working with Mouratoglou and it was her 16th Grand Slam title.
After Williams triumphed at the French Open for the first time in 11 years, her team was ready to celebrate heavily. And while the American tennis star dressed and was ready to hit the club, she changed her mind at the last moment and just told Mouratoglou that she wanted to get back and already start preparing for Wimbledon.
Mouratoglou: Williams never celebrated her 2013 French Open win, she was already thinking about Wimbledon
"In the evening, everybody wanted to go dancing, and when we arrived in front of the night club, she looked at me and she said, 'Let's go back home,' she never celebrated. She was already thinking about Wimbledon," the French coach recalled in a video uploaded on his Instagram.
"There is a trophy ceremony, and when she gets out of the court, she comes to me and she says, 'OK, let's do the cool down.' So we go in the fitness room, and after five minutes, she looks at me and she says, 'Now we have to win Wimbledon.' This is the mindset of the champion. As soon as they achieve something, they immediately think about a new goal, another one."
While Williams was determined and locked in on making it all the way at 2013 Wimbledon, it didn't happen for her that year after she was upset by Sabine Lisicki in the round-of-16.
However, Williams and Mouratoglou went on to enjoy much more success since their partnership brought seven more Grand Slams before the American retired.
Emma Raducanu says she is keeping her goals realistic at the moment and isn't expecting to win Grand Slam and WTA 1000 tournaments, but highlights that will change as soon as she gets to her desired level.
Prior to coming to Cincinnati, the world No. 33 made a splash move and hired Rafael Nadal's former long-time coach Francisco Roig. When addressing the collaboration for the first time, the 22-year-old noted that she hired Roig because she thought he could help her improve her shots and get to the level where she could legitimately challenge the very best in the game.
Since winning her first and lone title at the 2021 US Open, Raducanu hasn't made any finals. Also, she hasn't been ranked inside the top-10 since early 2022.
“I know there will be a time where I'll be targeting big tournaments, Masters and Slams, but to be honest, right now, that's not my goal. My goal is to improve as a player," the 22-year-old said in Cincinnati.
Raducanu's honest expectation for the upcoming Aryna Sabalenka match in Cincinnati
For a place in the Cincinnati round-of-16, Raducanu will battle against three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka. For the 22-year-old Briton, it will be a chance to register her first-ever win against a world No. 1. However, in their previous two meetings – of which the last came at Wimbledon – the Belarusian handled the business in straight sets.
Heading into their third meeting, the British tennis player suggests the Cincinnati surface favors more the top seed.
“I'm reasonable enough, and I guess honest enough with myself, to know that different surfaces favor different people, and where my game is at in comparison. So, I think the grass gave me a bit of an advantage (against Sabalenka), but we'll see how it goes," Raducanu explained.
A bit interestingly, Raducanu is only now making her second Cincinnati appearance. In her first and lone appearance at the American WTA 1000 tournament in 2022, she reached the last-16 before losing to Jessica Pegula.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is the first to admit that his relationship with his father has never been perfect but also adds that it is only now as transparent as possible.
As you probably know, the Greek tennis star had a very messy split with his father in early 2024 August, when he shouted at Apostolos and made him leave the stands of the Montreal Masters. The very next day, they put an end to their partnership. However, what happened in Montreal wasn't the sole instance as it had been rumored for quite some time that there had been a lot of tension in their relationship.
After spending a full year without his coach and lasting only two tournaments in his most recent partnership with Goran Ivanisevic, Tsitsipas decided to return to the factory settings and bring back his father – who guided him in the past to two Grand Slam finals and a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world.
Tsitsipas: We've had bad moments but the communication has never been better
"It's great having him back in the team. Well, it's one of those things that nothing else can beat. I feel like we've worked together for so many years. We've built so many amazing memories together. Obviously, a father-son relationship can be also complicated from time to time," the 26-year-old said on Tennis Channel.
"I won't deny that we've had our good moments, we've had our bad moments, miscommunications, not being able to communicate with ease in certain aspects or ways. But you know, we're not perfect. We're trying to figure it out. I've been very open with him, which I've never, I've never allowed myself to be that open and that transparent with him ever."
On Saturday, Tsitsipas clinched his first win since returning Apostolos to his team after overcoming Fabian Marozsan 7-6 (3) 6-2 in his opening Cincinnati Masters match. In the Cincinnati third round, the 25th-seeded Greek will take on Benjamin Bonzi.
Tsitsipas is currently ranked at No. 30 in the world and he has struggled with his consistency and results for the past two years. It remains to be seen if his father can help him return to where he once was was.
Emma Raducanu handled the business in her opening match with coach Francisco Roig after ousting Olga Danilovic 6-3 6-2, and she plays Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati third round.
The 30th-seeded Briton, who had a first-round bye at the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, lost her serve twice in the first set but broke the 40th-ranked Serb three times to still take the opener. The second was more straightforward for the 2021 US Open champion, who claimed two breaks to seal a straight-set victory.
Next up for Raducanu will be a third career meeting versus top seed Sabalenka, who defeated 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5 6-1. Last year, the current world No. 1 beat the Briton 6-3 7-5 in Indian Wells. A month ago, they met for the second time, and the Belarusian tennis star also registered a 7-6 (6) 6-4 win.
How Raducanu reacted to her performance versus Danilovic and what she can expect versus Sabalenka?
Following her opening Cincinnati win, the 2021 US Open champion acknowledged that it wasn't an ideal performance. However, the 22-year-old was still pretty happy with her display.
“Bar the first game today, that was not very much fit, but other than that, I was pretty mature and disciplined in my performance. I took care of my service games really well. And I knew that playing Olga, who's really difficult and really dangerous as a lefty and with big strikes, it was going to be important," the world No. 33 said after her opening win.
Against Sabalenka, Raducanu has yet to win a set. However, the British tennis player managed to cause some problems to the Belarusian during their Wimbledon match – especially in the first set – when she didn't convert some chances. Also, it is worth mentioning that the world No. 1 is only now playing her first tournament since Wimbledon, while the Briton is already playing her third tournament on hard this summer.
It remains to be seen if Raducanu can pull off an upset and beat Sabalenka for the first time in Cincinnati.
Andrey Rublev understood that he had to change some things to get out of the crisis that has affected him in the last year and a half, which is why he decided to start a new collaboration with his compatriot Marat Safin. The latter cannot travel with him to all the tournaments on the calendar, but he is helping him with his advice and some progress has been seen from the Russian ace.
The player from Moscow put in good performances during the Wimbledon Championships last month and did not disappoint at the Toronto Masters 1000 either, although he was unable to 'defend' the final reached in Montreal last year.
He is not far from the Top 10 of the ATP rankings right now and can aspire to achieve this goal by achieving good results at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 and especially at the US Open, two tournaments that should be suitable for his game.
Rublev opens up on Safin
During a recent interview with 'Tennis Bolshe', Andrey revealed that Safin is spurring him to add new weapons to his game to become more unpredictable: "I've understood for some time that I have to do something different if I want to become competitive again at the highest level. I knew that scoring more frequently was one of the main keys from a tactical point of view, but I was almost never able to do it until Marat came along. He told me that there were no other options and I had to try until I could do it."
Although Safin has a consulting role in Rublev's team, his main coach continues to be Fernando Vicente who has followed him since the beginning of his career. The latter has sacrificed much of his private life to help Andrey realize his dream and the Russian champion has never missed an opportunity to show him his enormous gratitude.
"Our relationship goes far beyond what is usually between a player and his coach. Fernando is a member of my family in some respects," Rublev said in a recent interview.
The Cincinnati Masters 1000 and the US Open represent the two new stages of the rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who will compete for the first position in the ATP rankings until the end of this season. The 22-year-old Spaniard won Roland Garros for the second year in a row at the end of an epic final, in which he also cancelled out three match points, but the current world No.1 took revenge on his top rival at the Wimbledon Championships by becoming the first Italian ever to lift the trophy in London.
The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria is still at the top of the ATP rankings, but he will have to defend many more points than Carlitos in the coming months and risks being overtaken. The four-time Grand Slam champion will be called upon to defend 3000 points between Cincinnati and New York, unlike his main rival who had not shone in these two events last season.
Piatti talks about Sinner and Alcaraz
There is no doubt that the US Open – scheduled in New York from August 24 to September 7 – will be fundamental in the race for the first position in the ATP rankings, with the Italian and the Spaniard doing everything possible to play their best tennis in Flushing Meadows.
In a long interview with 'La Stampa', top coach Riccardo Piatti – who worked with Sinner until 2022 – analyzed this amazing rivalry in detail: "Carlos' top goal is the US Open: if the Spaniard were to triumph in New York, it would become very difficult for Jannik to finish the year as number 1.
They are two champions who love competition and aspire to become the best version of themselves, without obsessions of any kind. Sinner has raised his level exponentially in the last year and has understood that he will have the chance to make the Grand Slam in the coming seasons. I've always thought so."
In the 2022 edition of the US Open, Jannik and Carlitos played a memorable match in the quarterfinals.
Vukov, who was suspended by the WTA Tour for breaching its code of conduct in January, was barred from receiving credentials at sanctioned events.
Reportedly, Vukov entered into private arbitration with the WTA as part of his appeal, and attended a hearing that took place before Wimbledon.
The long, drawn-out saga has taken place over the span of a year, with the tour first provisionally suspending Vukov near the end of 2024, then officially doing so on January 31st. All the while, Rybakina expressed the sentiment that she’d prefer it if Vukov could continue coaching her.
Rybakina cut ties with Vukov ahead of last year’s US Open, then hired Goran Ivanisevic in the off-season. In January she announced that Vukov was going to come back into the fold, but he was soon banned. Still, Ivanisevic ended up parting ways with Rybakina rather than stay in a situation he called “sad and strange.”
Exclusive: Stefano Vukov, who in January was given a one-year ban by the WTA for his treatment of Elena Rybakina, has had his suspension lifted on appeal ⬇️https://t.co/3AawsAGrx3
Previously, members of Rybakina’s team had appealed to the WTA that they feared for her safety. Vukov stayed close to his former charge, and inherited agent duties, while Davide Sanguinetti stepped in to coach her.
According to the Athletic, Vukov initiated an appeal this spring, and has been reinstated.
“The WTA is fully committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for all athletes and other participants, as set out in our WTA Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Code,” the WTA said in a statement to the Athletic. “Any sanctions issued following a breach of these safeguarding rules are carefully considered and are subject to appeal before an independent tribunal.
“While case details remain confidential, we can confirm that Mr. Vukov is eligible to receive credentials at WTA events. We will not be commenting further.”
Sanguinetti has been supportive of Vukov, and could potentially keep his role in the team even after Vukov returns.
Tenth-ranked Rybakina will face Mexico’s Renata Zarazua in second-round action at the Cincinnati Open.
Blood, sweat, tears and – finally – triumph. Ben Shelton gave it all in Toronto and took home the hardware as the youngest American to win a Masters title since Andy Roddick in 2004, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-7(5) 6-4 7-6(3) in two hours and 47 minutes.
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Shelton is the first American man to win the title in Canada since Roddick in 2003, and he will rise to a career-high ranking of No.6.
“I feel so blessed,” Shelton said. “Just to have opportunities like this. The joy that I feel today isn’t just because of the win. It’s because of the people that I get to spend every day with.”
It was a hard-hitting tussle with Khachanov, the pair’s second career meeting which saw Khachanov jump out in front on the strength of a solid first-set tiebreak.
But Shelton would not be denied. The 22-year-old American answered back, going unbroken in sets two and three and winning four of the final five points in the deciding set tiebreak to earn his third and biggest ATP title.
Shelton defeated No. 8-seeded Alex de Minaur and No. 4-seeded Taylor Fritz to advance to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final, and survived third-set tiebreaks to defeat Brandon Nakashima and Flavio Cobolli earlier in the tournament.
When the victory was clinched, Shelton made his way to the crowd to share the moment with his coach and father Bryan. His coach encouraged him to step into the court and take balls earlier against Khachanov, and the strategy paid dividends.
How special is that? Ben Shelton wins his maiden Masters title in Toronto, defeating Khachanov, 6-7 6-4 7-6. pic.twitter.com/iIcUwBSzXK
“I love the way that he coaches me,” Shelton said. “He usually leaves stuff up to me. He gives me a lot of suggestions. He knows me better than anyone in the world, so he’s well qualified to give me those suggestions.”
Khachanov went more than six years between Masters finals, a record, but could not summon the magic that he displayed when winning the Paris title in 2018.
Still, he will rise to No.12 in the rankings after a strong effort that saw him save a match point while knocking off top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the semis.
“Definitely still it’s a positive, great tournament, great run,” he said. “I had some great battles, great wins against top guys. So that’s why I give credit to myself for doing that, and that’s it.
“I mean, you can win, you can lose, so you just try to regroup and be ready for the next tournament, it’s another Masters 1000, and then it’s a Grand Slam. So this is tennis, so sometimes you have to regroup quickly and be fit, be ready for the next match.”
Blood, sweat, tears and – finally – triumph. Ben Shelton gave it all in Toronto and took home the hardware as the youngest American to win a Masters title since Andy Roddick in 2004, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-7(5) 6-4 7-6(3) in two hours and 47 minutes.
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Shelton is the first American man to win the title in Canada since Roddick in 2003, and he will rise to a career-high ranking of No.6.
“I feel so blessed,” Shelton said. “Just to have opportunities like this. The joy that I feel today isn’t just because of the win. It’s because of the people that I get to spend every day with.”
It was a hard-hitting tussle with Khachanov, the pair’s second career meeting which saw Khachanov jump out in front on the strength of a solid first-set tiebreak.
But Shelton would not be denied. The 22-year-old American answered back, going unbroken in sets two and three and winning four of the final five points in the deciding set tiebreak to earn his third and biggest ATP title.
Shelton defeated No. 8-seeded Alex de Minaur and No. 4-seeded Taylor Fritz to advance to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final, and survived third-set tiebreaks to defeat Brandon Nakashima and Flavio Cobolli earlier in the tournament.
When the victory was clinched, Shelton made his way to the crowd to share the moment with his coach and father Bryan. His coach encouraged him to step into the court and take balls earlier against Khachanov, and the strategy paid dividends.
How special is that? Ben Shelton wins his maiden Masters title in Toronto, defeating Khachanov, 6-7 6-4 7-6. pic.twitter.com/iIcUwBSzXK
“I love the way that he coaches me,” Shelton said. “He usually leaves stuff up to me. He gives me a lot of suggestions. He knows me better than anyone in the world, so he’s well qualified to give me those suggestions.”
Khachanov went more than six years between Masters finals, a record, but could not summon the magic that he displayed when winning the Paris title in 2018.
Still, he will rise to No.12 in the rankings after a strong effort that saw him save a match point while knocking off top-seeded Alexander Zverev in the semis.
“Definitely still it’s a positive, great tournament, great run,” he said. “I had some great battles, great wins against top guys. So that’s why I give credit to myself for doing that, and that’s it.
“I mean, you can win, you can lose, so you just try to regroup and be ready for the next tournament, it’s another Masters 1000, and then it’s a Grand Slam. So this is tennis, so sometimes you have to regroup quickly and be fit, be ready for the next match.”
Emma Raducanu sounds ecstatic over adding Francisco Roig to her team and highlights the main thing she wants from Rafael Nadal's former coach is to help her improve her game to the level where she can legitimately challenge the very best in the game.
Ahead of Cincinnati, the 2021 US Open champion made a major announcement, revealing that Nadal's former coach of 17 years agreed to work with her.
So far this year, there hasn't been much stability in Raducanu's coaching staff. After Nick Cavaday left the team in late January, the 22-year-old was assisted by some LTA coaches, before having an unsuccessful two-week stint with Vladimir Platenik in March. Ultimately, the British tennis player hired Mark Petchey – but since he has his own commentary commitments – he wasn't a full-time presence in the box until the grass season.
But now, Raducanu's tumultuous 2025 coaching situation may have come to an end with the Roig appointment.
Raducanu: Roig has got a bank of experience… I want the quality of my shots to be better
“It’s going really well, it’s my second day here with him here, but I did a few days in London before I came out here. He’s obviously got a bank of experience and I’m very excited to continue working with him and to have him on my side," the Briton said.
So far in her career, Raducanu has collected three wins against top-10 players. This year, the 22-year-old played against Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula and Zheng Qinwen, and lost all of those meetings. Her lone top-10 win of the year came against Emma Navarro in Miami. And that's one aspect that she wants to fix.
“I’m working on the quality of my shots to be better. I think against the very top that’s what it needs, it needs to improve. So I’m hoping that with time – I’m pretty patient, I’m going to try and be pretty patient – that it’ll improve," Raducanu underlined.
In the Cincinnati first round, Raducanu will play against a qualifier.
Patrick Mouratoglou suggests he ran out of time to solve Naomi Osaka's woes but insists that he has no regrets over accepting the job.
After 10 months of working together, Osaka decided to stop working with Mouratoglou just before the start of the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal. During their tenure, the former world No. 1 showed some positive flashes, like reaching the Auckland final and winning her first clay at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo. But the main reason why the Japanese brought the French coach wasn't accomplished – that was doing well on the biggest stage, specifically Grand Slams.
To Mouratoglou's defense, it should be noted that Osaka dealt with a back injury in late 2024 and was also hampered by an abdominal issue at the start of 2025.
Now, in her first tournament since splitting with Mouratoglou and adding Tomasz Wiktorowski to her team, the Japanese has made the semifinal of the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal. Addressing that, the French coach tells CNN that he is happy for the 27-year-old and that he is rooting for her to "go all the way."
Then, he shed light on some of the reasons that led to their split.
Mouratoglou: I thought Osaka lacked her past competitiveness… We never solved it
“The thing that was missing was the competitiveness. I think she’s a great competitor, but at that time she was not as good as a competitor as I think can be and she has been in the past. And this is the thing that we didn’t solve. I wish we could have more time to solve it. But we didn’t, that’s life, and I have no regrets on that because that’s the rule when you work in high level. I mean, time is important, and you have to solve the problems fast. So I think that was the key that was missing," the French coach told CNN.
In the same interview, Mouratoglou said that he told Osaka she was ready to win but just needed to find the right guidance. Considering how the Japanese's debut tournament with Wiktorowski has been going, she might have found that right piece.
Naomi Osaka is finding her best tennis in her first tournament with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. The four-time major champion defeated Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2 on Tuesday night in Montreal, notching five consecutive wins for the first time since 2022, and setting a semifinal with 22-year-old Dane Clara Tauson.
Osaka d. Svitolina 6-2 6-2 in Montreal.
Naomi is into her first WTA 1000 semifinal since 2022
3 match points saved in the 2nd round against Samsonova, and she hasn't looked back since.
It was a dominant performance from Osaka, who reached the last four in Canada for the first time in her career in her sixth career appearance in Canada.
“I think for me I’m just having a lot of fun playing and I’m really glad to be here,” said the 27-year-old former World No.1. “It’s been seven years.”
Osaka broke serve five times from seven opportunities, kept her error count far lower than Svitolina and won 83 percent of her first-serve points to improve to 21-11 on the season.
“I’m really happy,” she told reporters. I”m also really excited. I don’t know. It’s kind of interesting, because I told people this before, but like, obviously after Wimbledon, I was really disappointed. Then I just kind of let go of my expectations, and now we’re here. So I find it kind of ironic, but I’m happy about it.”
With her win Osaka rises to No.29 in the WTA live rankings, which means she will be seeded at the US Open.
Davide Sanguinetti says he definitely has a different approach to WTA players because female athletes are "more sensitive" and therefore he has to be a bit softer in his methods.
In January, Elena Rybakina went through a very tumultuous period when she decided to bring back Stefano Vukov to her team – that didn't sit well with Goran Ivanisevic at all – who left the Kazakh's team as soon as she finished her Australian Open campaign. To make it all worse for the 26-year-old, the WTA concluded their investigation into Vukov's behavior and he was handed a one-year ban from coaching.
Following the Vukov ban news, Rybakina hired former Italian tennis player Sanguinetti. In the past, the Italian worked with Dinara Safina, Vincent Spadea, Go Soeda, and Brandon Nakashima. As you probably know, Safina played her last pro match in 2011 so a lot of time passed between the last time that Sanguinetti coached on the WTA Tour.
Rybakina's coach Sanguinetti: We definitely need to be more sensitive to girls
"We definitely need to be more sensitive to girls, who have different ways of interacting. It was new to me; I'm learning and adapting," the Italian coach said on Italian channel Supertennis.
One of the reasons why Ivanisevic left Rybakina's team was the fact that he thought he would be the lone coach in her team. But after she decided to bring back Vukov after all the controversies that surrounded them, Ivanisevic decided it simply wasn't worth it.
When Sanguinetti arrived in the 26-year-old's team, he was directly asked how he felt about Vukov. And he confirmed that he was fine with Vukov.
"Vukov and Elena are close, he will always be there. Stefano and I talk a lot, we are on the same wavelength. It’s not a problem to have two coaches, it’s almost a trend now," the 52-year-old said in February.
Meanwhile, Rybakina is in the midst of a great Montreal run, where she made the semifinal.
By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 5, 2025 Photo credit: Mubadala Citi DC Open Facebook
Emma Raducanu has hired Franciso Roig in an effort to continue a renaissance season.
The 2021 US Open champion has hired Rafael Nadal’s former coach through the end of the 2025 season, PA News Agency reports.
The 57-year-old Spaniard was a long-time coaching member of Nadal’s team, later coached Matteo Berrettini and has experience coaching on the WTA Tour as well. Roig, who reached a career-high rank of No. 60 on the ATP Tour, also coached 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Roig succeeds Mark Petchey, who had been coaching Raducanu on an informal basis since the Miami Open. Tennis Channel analyst had agreed to work with Raducanu through the end of the grass-court season, but could not commit to coaching her full time because of his television commentary obligations.
Working with Petchey, who previously coached Andy Murray, Raducanu registered some of her best results in years.
The 22-year-old Raducanu reached quarterfinals at Miami and Queen’s Club and was a semifinalist in Washington, DC. Working with Petchey, Raducanu applied her athleticism and found the joy in her tennis.
The 33rd-ranked Raducanu has defeated former Grand Slam champions Naomi Osaka and Marketa Vondrusova in recent months and led world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka by a break in both sets before bowing 7-6(6), 6-4 in the Wimbledon third round.
After that match, Raducanu said she hoped to continue working with Petchey, but understood his position.
“Yeah, it’s very difficult. He obviously also has his commentating commitments,” Raducanu said at Wimbledon. “He agreed to kind of help me until the end of Wimbledon and then we kind of see from there because he gave up some work to work with me here, which I really appreciate and I’m grateful for.”
The challenge Roig faces is encouraging Raducanu to continue to apply her athleticism, all-court skills and versatility, particularly against big hitters, who can overpower her. Wimbledon finalist Amanda Anisimova crushed Raducanu 6-2, 6-1 in Montreal playing bold first-strike tennis.
Still, Raducanu should be encouraged with the strides she made working with Petchey that prompted No. 1 Sabalenka to make a bold assertion about the Briton.
“I cannot predict anything, but I definitely sure that, maybe not in a month, but maybe a bit longer period, but she definitely going to get back in top,” Sabalenka said after her Wimbledon win over Raducanu. “She’s fighting. She’s playing much better.
“She’s more consistent. I can see that mentally she’s healthy. I think that’s really important. Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s getting there.”
Matt Fitzpatrick shows a part of what we have been expecting from him for a long time, and his performance at the Open Championship really arouses optimism in the public. The 30-year-old has had poor releases in recent years, and all of this forced him to make a bizarre decision: Parting with his long-time coach, Mike Walker.
Bizarre decision that caused a public response, probably turned out to be positive for him, as the new collaboration turned out to be fruitful, at least for now.
The 30-year-old started working with the new coach, Mark Blackburn, quite delighted with his approach.
Matt stressed that it was unusual to get used to new methods and a new coach, but it is clear that if you want to progress, it is sometimes necessary to make concrete decisions.
"It was the first time I've ever had anyone look at my swing, or get a lesson off someone not named Mike Walker or Pete Cowen in 15 years," Fitzpatrick said, as quoted by BBC.
During the first days of cooperation, Blackburn analyzed Fitzpatrick, his physique and abilities, determining that he has unusually long arms.
While some think this could be an advantage, the English golfer stresses that it is mostly a disadvantage for him.
"Which is not great for hitting irons because its harder to control the depth of the club, and you are going to hit it heavier more often than not," he said.
"The other thing was I don't have great shoulder flexion and because of that, as soon as I swing it too long I come out of posture and my swing is all out of whack."
The famous golfer revealed that he is now changing his body position, pulling his shoulder back and push out his chest.
"It's me trying to pinch my shoulder blades together," he said.
"It is basically to create the radius of my arms, which means I can just rotate there and I don't need to stretch or move my arms."
Methods
Whether the new methods and new coach will turn out to be a good move by Fitzpatrick, time will tell. In the world of sports, including golf, changes usually bring positivities, and some special momentum.
Matt seems to be an optimist, but we will see if his optimism will ultimately pay off.
Among the handful of household names still very much in the mix ahead of quarterfinal action at the 1000-level events in Canada this week, there are a few newbies who could just be ready to make a big splash.
And a four-time major champion that has not seen much success at the biggest events of late.
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Let’s have a look at some of the players that could produce breakout results over the next three days in Canada.
Alex Michelsen
The 20-year-old American has reached his maiden Masters quarterfinals, and that makes three American men in the quarters of a Masters event for the first time since 2004 Indian Wells: Michelsen, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.
Today Michelsen will face Karen Khachanov in Toronto as he bids to become the youngest American man to reach the semifinals at a Masters event since Andy Roddick won the 2003 title. Michelsen, who will rise to No.28 in the live rankings if he wins, is bidding to become the first player born in 2004 to reach a Masters semifinal.
Clara Tauson
The 22-year-old Dane has already defeated two Top-5 players in 2024. She has now reached her second WTA 1000 quarterfinal and is already up to a new career-high ranking of 17 in the live rankings. She’ll face Madison Keys on Tuesday.
Victoria Mboko
It’s all gravy for the youngest player remaining in the women’s draw – and the last Canadian standing in either event — in Montreal this week, as 18-year-old wild card Victoria Mboko faces Jessica Bouzas Maneiro for a spot in the semis on Monday night.
Mboko, making her main draw debut, defeated Coco Gauff to reach her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal. Same for Bouzas Maneiro, and both players are bidding to reach their first tour-level semifinal.
Ben Shelton
22-year-old American Ben Shelton has already reached the semifinals at a major, but he hasn’t gone there at a Masters event thus far. He’ll have a chance to achieve the feat on Tuesday when he meets Alex de Minaur in Toronto, in a first-time meeting.
Of the eight men remaining in the singles draw in Toronto, only the Americans – Michelsen and Shelton – have yet to reach a Masters final.
ben shelton citi open
Naomi Osaka
Could it be the four-time Slam champion’s time to shine again in Montreal? Naomi Osaka, with new coach Tomasz Wiktorowski at the helm, will bid for her first 1000-level semifinal since 2022 in Miami.
The former No.1, who rifled past Anastasija Sevastova in 49 minutes on Sunday, will face former champion Elina Svitolina on Tuesday.
Only four of the remaining eight players left in the Montreal draw have previously won a title at the 1000 level: Madison Keys, Elena Rybakina, Osaka and Svitolina
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, August 4, 2025 Photo credit: Omnium Banque Nationale Facebook
Being fitter makes you smarter on court, Andre Agassi famously observed.
Naomi Osaka points to improved fitness as one of three main reasons for her Montreal resurgence.
Former world No. 1 Osaka crushed former US Open semifinalist Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-0 in a 49-minute thrashing that was the shortest match of her accomplished career.
It is Osaka’s fourth straight win equaling her longest winning streak of the season which came in Auckland in January. It sent Osaka into her first Canadian Open quarterfinal and vaulted her to No. 34 in the live rankings—as she moved within striking distance of a US Open wild card.
Osaka attributes her career-best Montreal to three primary reasons: she’s fitter on court, happier off court and believes her trial with coach Tomasz Wiktorowski is working well so far because of the Polish’s coaches direct, no-nonsense style.
“Honestly, I think for me what’s working well is I am very confident in my fitness,” Osaka said. “I’m really comfortable just getting balls back now, and I really enjoy Tomasz. I don’t know if to say his name is ‘Thomas’ or ‘Tomasz.’ I’m so sorry.
“But I enjoy his coaching style. He’s very direct and to the point. For someone like me, who my thoughts scatter around often, it’s very helpful.”
At times this season, Osaka was getting beaten by deep balls in the corner and sometimes tried playing big strikes down the line rather that playing back a deep ball to give herself time to recover back to the center of the court.
In fact, as recently as her 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 comeback conquest of 13th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova in round two, Osaka was getting beaten repeatedly in crosscourt exchanges and sometimes taking one big step rather than the short, precise preparation steps to give herself ideal spacing between her body and the ball.
The 2023 Montreal finalist Samsonova held double match point at 6-4, 5-4, 40-15 when Osaka dug down and denied two match points sparking her stirring comeback.
In retrospect, it’s possible that comeback win could change the course of Osaka’s season if she sustains this winning streak. Saving those match points, Osaka started putting productive points together rather than resorting to try to end points prematurely with one big strike.
Similarly, Osaka said she’s now focusing on achieving “Mini goals” at tournaments as she tries to stack more wins together and pursue her ultimate goal of a Top 10 return and eventually competing for Slam titles again.
“It’s weird. I talked to my dad, and he said, like, Just being healthy and happy is a form of success,” Osaka said. “I agree with that, but I want more.
“I mean, definitely, of course I would want to win slams, of course I would want to be in the top 10, but I think I need to pace myself and go for the mini goals, and they’ll eventually turn into the big goals. Yeah, I think being in the quarterfinals here is a step to hopefully getting to the semis and the finals, so I’ll try to treat it more like that.”
Osaka scored her 20th win of the season in Montreal which matches her total 2024 victory output. Now, she’ll try to sustain her roll facing 10th-seeded Elina Svitolina for a semifinal spot. The 27-year-old Osaka has won four of seven meetings vs. Svitolina, who will test the Japanese power players patience with her precision.
Naomi Osaka has just delivered one of her best displays since starting her post-pregnancy comeback in 2024 as the former world No. 1 needed just 49 minutes to destroy Anastasija Sevastova 6-1 6-0 in the Montreal round-of-16.
Through the opening two games of the match, the two players were tied to one game apiece. From that moment on, there was only one player on the court – and it was the Japanese – who impressively took the next 11 games without basically giving any chance to the former world No. 11.
For Osaka, this is her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal of the year. Also, this is the first time since Auckland that the four-time Grand Slam champion has managed to win four matches in a single tournament at the main level – note, the Japanese also had five consecutive wins in May at the WTA 125 (Challenger) tournament in Saint-Malo.
Now, the 27-year-old awaits the winner of the match between No. 5 seed Amanda Anisimova and Elina Svitolina.
Osaka is looking rejuvenated in Montreal
After losing in the Washington round-of-16, Osaka made a big move and decided to say goodbye to coach Patrick Mouratoglou. But she is not alone in Montreal after quickly agreeing on a collaboration with Iga Swiatek's former long-time coach Tomasz Wiktorowski. So far, their debut has been nothing short of outstanding.
“I think with personality, I was a little nervous because he seems a little stern but he’s actually kind of funny. He’ll randomly say a joke that I wasn’t expecting or something like that. I like him a lot. I know that we’ve only played two matches, but he seems very decisive with what he wants. And I think that that makes it very clear for me," Osaka said of Wiktorowski a few days ago.
Osaka won't have an easy job in the Montreal quarterfinal whoever she faces, but she is certainly not lacking any confidence at the moment.
By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 31, 2025 Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
The Montreal service line loomed like a fault line and Coco Gauff was blowing herself up.
The top-seeded Gauff coughed up 14 double faults but turned an early implosion into an inspirational ending playing her most dynamic tennis in the final set.
Gauff shook off a seven game spiral, surging back to score a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Veronika Kudermetova to battle into the Montreal round of 16 today.
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Down a set and a break, Roland Garros champion Gauff successfully fought off her own sloppy serving and shotmaker Kudermetova and will face either Canadian wild card Victoria Mboko or Czech Marie Bouzkova for a quarterfinal spot.
“I mean the goal is to survive and advance—we all know it’s not my best but it’s good enough for today,” Gauff said. “Mentally, I’m very proud of myself. There’s obviously parts of my game I’m working on, one of them being the serve…I look forward to the future when I’m feeling my best hopeful it’s a little bit easier.”
Through two rounds, Gauff has clanked an unsightly 37 double faults yet she’s reinforced her reputation for resilience raising her 2025 three-set record to 9-1 today.
The two-time Grand Slam champion has the ability to compartmentalize serve struggles, shirk stretches of shoddy play and fight furiously with the match on the line. The question is: Can Gauff pick up her serving as she progresses, and the competition intensifies? The good news, Gauff said, is she’s finding ways to win with her service game “on a crutch.”
“I mean, there’s positives and there’s negatives,” Gauff told the media in Montreal. “Obviously I am so disappointed in myself when it comes to that part of the game just because I didn’t play D.C. to work on that and made changes to that and doing well in practice and serving really well in practice. Yeah, so I just would like for it to transfer to the match.
“It does give positives that, okay, I’m winning these matches having literally like one part of my game on a crutch. So it’s like if I can stand on both feet, then I can only imagine that it would be a lot more straightforward and a lot more easier for me.”
Gauff committed 23 double faults—nearly a full set of doubles—in her opener vs. Danielle Collins yet still squeezed out a 7-5, 4-6 7-6(2) victory relying on her grit and legs to get it done in two hours, 56 minutes.
The normally feisty Collins’ continuously dropping her Tecnifibre racquet to the court in a show of physical frustration that certainly didn’t help her cause. Gauff kept calm despite the deluge of double faults and dug out a third-set tiebreaker, improving to 11-2 lifetime in third-set tiebreakers.
Today, the world No. 2 jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Soon the double fault ghosts haunted Gauff again. Part of the problem today is Gauff sometimes chased her ball toss and was hitting a hybrid kick-slice serve in the opening set: She wasn’t getting the pronation to bring the kick back down in the court but wasn’t slicing the serve severely enough to control it either.
Three double faults in the ninth game saw Gauff gift the break and a 5-4 lead to Kudermetova. If you’re Gauff—or her coaches—you might just want to hit some hard slice serves right into the body in those moments to sustain the racquet acceleration while getting enough net clearance to bring the ball down into the box.
Kudermetova cracked the wide serve on the deuce side to create space. When Kudermetova cranked an inside-out forehand winner she snatched the opening set exploiting seven double faults from Gauff.
From 1-4 down, Kudermetova tore through seven straight games building a 6-4, 2-0 lead.
Empowered by her run to the Wimbledon doubles championship earlier this month, Kudermetova held a break point to go up 4-1, but Gauff denied it. Gauff spun a forehand down the line followed by a backhand strike down the opposite sideline to hold for 2-3.
Striking her forehand with more conviction, Gauff drilled a diagonal forehand winner to break back and level six games into the second set.
Many players resort to the slice forehand when pushed wide on the stretch to extend the point. At times today, Gauff opted to hit slice forehands on balls right down the middle when she had time to set up and hit her traditional topspin forehand. You wonder why she doesn’t take the short preparation steps, create space between her body and the ball and rip some of those forehands just to get her groove going on that wing.
Deadlocked at 5-all, the second set turned on a series of close calls. Gauff badly botched a forehand sitter from nearly right on top of the net choosing to slice her forehand rather than hit it to face a break point.
Surprising the Russian with the drop shot, Gauff got away with it when Kudermetova caught up to the ball but shoveled her forehand out. Given new life, Gauff hammered a wide ace then jolted her opponent backward with a body serve digging through a tough hold for 6-5.
Knowing Gauff’s backhand is her more stable wing, Kudermetova inexplicably played the American’s backhand wing and paid the price as Gauff gained double set point in the 12th game. Kudermetova saved the first set point, but again challenged the Gauff backhand and netted a high backhand volley.
Playing from behind for most of the set, a gritty Gauff broke to force a final set after one hour, 56 minutes.
You can question Gauff’s serve and her sometime flaky forehand, but she is unquestionably one of the toughest competitors on the WTA Tour. After scraping into a third set, Gauff elevated soaring through eight straight points to open the final set. Gauff slashed a forehand crosscourt winner extending to 3-0. Kudermetova, who was sometimes barking at her husband and coach Sergey Demekhine by then, rapidly ran out of answers.
Reading the Russian’s wide serve on the deuce side, Gauff hit some of her finest forehand returns in that final set. A match that saw Gauff dump 14 double faults ended with Kudermetova hitting her first double fault.
Watching Gauff through the first two rounds of Montreal is a bit like watching a sprinter stack her own lane with hurdles right before the race yet still manage to overcome all obstacles and cross the finish line first.
“My energy level is there. I’m not quite at the point where these matches tire me out physically,” Gauff said of winning successive three-setters. “Yeah, I was training in Florida for three weeks having, like, three-, three-and-a-half-hour practices, plus fitness in 90-degree weather with humidity. So it doesn’t feel as long as it is said, but I would love to get these matches under the two-hour mark, but if that’s what it takes, I’m here to be out here.”
Earlier, Marta Kostyuk rose from a dramatic fall out-dueling Daria Kasatkina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) in a match highlighted by one of the craziest points of the tournament.
Two points into the tiebreaker, Kostyuk slipped and fell behind the baseline, dropped her racquet, picked it up extended the point with a forehand and eventually won the point after climbing off the court.
Kostyuk converted seven of 11 break points and exploited 11 double faults from Kasatkina for her second straight three-set win.
The 24th-seeded Ukranian will face next American McCartney Kessler.
The 28th-seeded Kessler conquered fourth-seeded Mirra Andreeva 7-6(5), 6-4.
Stefanos Tsitsipas continues to search for answers as his difficult season rolls on. The Greek ended his brief collaboration with Goran Ivanisevic after two tournaments, returning to a more familiar setup with his father, Apostolo, as head coach.
However, the change has not provided the desired results, at least not in Toronto. World no. 30 lost in the second round to Christopher O'Connell 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in two hours and one minutes.
Thus, Stefanos extended a concerning trend: he has not managed to win back-to-back ATP matches since the ATP 500 event in Barcelona in April. For the moment, he remains in the top-30, although that may change quickly.
🇦🇺 Chris O’Connell with the first break of the match vs. 🇬🇷 Stefanos Tsitsipas (23) followed by a hold has him a game away from the opening set at 5-3 – Toronto R64
The most recent loss at the sixth Masters 1000 event of the season further highlights the ongoing challenges Stefanos is facing. Despite efforts to reset his team and regain momentum, the Greek is playing miles below his best.
Tsitsipas worked with Ivanisevic during two early exits in Halle and Wimbledon. The question lingered about his openness to bring necessary changes and integrate new coaching voices.
While Goran could not stay his coach following his remarks about Stefanos' lack of will and his terrible physical shape, many questioned his decision to reunite with his father, as they had issues before.
Tsitsipas will seek deeper runs in Cincinnati and New York, although it remains unclear how much can he offer with low confidence and ongoing back issues that threaten to end his career way before the 30th birthday.
Stefanos and Christopher struggled to find the first serve. The Greek stayed behind his rival on the second serve and gave serve away four times, three in the decider. The Aussie denied six of eight break points and sent the 2018 runner-up packing.
By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 31, 2025 Photo credit: Brad Penner/USTA/US Open
Caroline Garcia plans a Queen City return before her final farewell in Queens.
The 31-year-old Garcia aims to plan next month’s Cincinnati WTA 1000 event in preparation for her final tournament at the 2025 US Open.
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Garcia shared a brief video of her training with coach Bertrand Perret on Instagram Stories today. She captioned the video “Getting ready for Cincy tennis with my fave coach Bertrand Perret.”
It’s been a life-changing month for Garcia, who married long-time boyfriend Borja Durán in a beautiful and joyous ceremony earlier this month.
The happy couple shared exquisite images from their wedding ceremony on social media.
“The most beautiful day of our lives,” Garcia posted on social media.
The July 19th wedding comes nearly 13 months to the day after the couple announced their engagement.
Borja Durán is a Catalan university professor who has lived in Barcelona.
The couple launched their own podcast, The Tennis Insider Club, last year.
They’ve interviewed several stars, including Gael Monfils, Alize Cornet, Andrey Rublev and Victoria Azarenka for the podcast.
Former world No. 4 Garcia announced her intention to retire from the pro tour after the 2025 US Open in May. Garcia won 11 WTA singles titles, including defeating Aryna Sabalenka to capture the 2022 WTA Finals championship. Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic captured the Roland Garros doubles championship twice.
Andrey Rublev is trying to turn his season and career around in recent times, having made the decision to hire Marat Safin as his new coach after going through a very negative period.
The Russian ace has a lot of points to defend at the 'Canadian Open' – which is taking place in Toronto right now – having reached the final in Montreal last year. The champion from Moscow can take advantage of the fact that numerous top players have decided not to participate in the prestigious Canadian tournament in this edition, preferring to recharge their batteries in view of the US Open scheduled for the end of the summer.
Without Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper – all absent for various reasons – Rublev can really try to achieve an exceptional result in Ontario, which would allow him to regain a lot of confidence in view of the last Grand Slam of the season. Last year's finalist had a strong debut in Toronto, where he defeated French star Hugo Gaston in straight sets.
Rublev opens up on Safin
During his press conference, he explained that the conditions are very different between Toronto and Montreal: "The courts are very fast here, the ball slips and it's not easy to control the shots. The situation is totally different from Montreal, where the surface is slower and the rallies are much longer. The conditions in Toronto are tougher in my opinion."
Rublev seems more confident and confident since Safin became his mentor and it is no coincidence that he put in excellent performances at the Wimbledon Championships, where he reached the round of 16 losing to Carlitos Alcaraz at the end of a hard-fought match (the Russian had won the first set, before suffering the comeback of the Spanish champion).
Andrey explained that Marat's presence in New York is not yet certain: "We hope he can be with me at the US Open, but it is not certain that he will be able to get his visa in time. If he doesn't succeed, we'll have to wait for the tournaments in Asia."
By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, July 27, 2025 Photo credit: Hannah Peters/Getty
Alexander Zverev tuned up for the North American summer hard-court season training with coach Toni Nadal at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
Olympic gold-medal champion Zverev said he’d like to work with Toni Nadal on a more regular basis, but a prospective partnership depends on Uncle Toni’s schedule.
Speaking to the media in Toronto where he is top seed at this week’s National Bank Open, Zverev said “I’m trying to convince” Toni Nadal to join his coaching team.
“I mean, he spent quite a lot of time with me actually as well, so I’m very thankful for that,” Zverev told the media in Toronto. “I mean, the time in Mallorca was amazing. I spent about 10 days there, and worked really hard and enjoyed it as well. I think Toni enjoyed it probably as well.
“I’m trying to convince him (smiling) to do more weeks with me, and we’ll see how it goes, but he’s a very busy man. Also he has a lot of dates that he already committed to this year, so I’m not sure how much of him you’ll see this year, because he gave his word to a lot of events and a lot of speeches already. But we’re talking about what a potential partnership could look like, for sure, and, yeah, I can give you an update probably in a few weeks time when we know more. But, yeah, I enjoyed my time there, that’s for sure.”
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In addition to working with Toni Nadal, Zverev said he gained “great insight” from Rafael Nadal on his game. King of Clay Rafa Nadal shared with Zverev what it was like for him to face the German.
“Yeah, they definitely spent a lot of hours talking to me, and they gave me some great insight. Rafa gave me some great insight of what it actually is like to play against me, because he saw me as a player, he saw me now as a spectator as well,” Zverev said. “It was very helpful, and again, we spent hours and hours talking, sometimes until past midnight in some dinners and stuff like that. So it was great to be there.”
Earlier this month, Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech completed a five-set win over Zverev in the Wimbledon first round. Rinderknech won 44 of 55 trips to net and denied all nine break points he faced.
Afterward, Zverev said the prestigious Centre Court lawn felt like a deep hole he couldn’t escape.
Six months after his surge to the Australian Open final, Zverev suffered his second career Wimbledon first-round exit and opened up on the malaise he’s feeling.
“I would say more mental, probably. It’s funny, I feel very alone out there at times,” Zverev said. “I struggle mentally. I’ve been saying that since after the Australian Open. Yeah, just don’t know. I’m trying to find ways, trying to find ways to kind of get out of this hole. I keep kind of finding myself back in it in a way.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I feel, generally speaking, quite alone in life at the moment, which is a feeling that is not very nice.”
In his parting presser at SW19, Zverev said it’s possible he could hire a new coach and conceded he’s out of answers on court.
“Possibly,” Zverev said when asked about a new coach. “As I said, yeah, it’s a different feeling right now for me. I can’t speak for the moment. But I think I’ll have answers by Canada.”
While Zverev has worked with high-profile coaches in the past—including David Ferrer, who helped guide him to the US Open final and former No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has been exceptionally successful coaching Carlos Alcaraz—he continues to return to the familiarity of his father, Alexander Zverev, Sr., as coach.
Toni Nadal, known as a savvy and tough taskmaster, spent some time working with Felix Auger-Aliassime after stepping down as Rafa Nadal’s official coach. Zverev said his goal is to maximize his game to try to win Grand Slams.
“I mean, I think at this stage for me it’s about winning, and trying to maximize what I have, and trying to maximize what I can become,” Zverev said. “Again, I think my team, but also Toni are exceptional in that, in maximizing what a player has. Of course, he was with Rafa before, which I’m never going to compare myself to Rafa, but if he can maximize what I have, and he can maximize the potential that I have, I’m sure that I can have a lot more success in my career.”
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, July 28, 2025 Photo credit: Robert Prange/Getty
Naomi Osaka is ready for a reset.
It won’t include Patrick Mouratoglou.
Former No. 1 Osaka announced she split with Mouratoglou, who coached her for nearly 11 months.
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“Merci Patrick. It was such a great experience learning from you,” Osaka posted on Instagram. “Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who split with ex-coach Wim Fissette after the 2024 US Open, began working with Mouratoglou in September of 2024.
“Yes [he’s] my [coach] right now. I try not to commit to short-term collaborations,” Osaka said last September. “I try to think that it is a long-term commitment. I like the way he coaches. I think it’s going to be very interesting.”
Working with Mouratoglou, Osaka captured her first clay-court title at the WTA 125 event in Saint Malo in May. She also reached the Auckland final in January retiring after dropping the opening set to Clara Tauson, 6-4.
Though they clicked personally, professional results largest eluded Osaka, who fell in three sets to Paula Badosa in the Roland Garros opening round. Osaka reached the Wimbledon third round losing in three sets to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Coach Mouratoglou was philosophical about the parting.
“Nothing lasts forever. What counts is what a collaboration has brought to each other and what lasts after,” Mouratoglou posted on social media.
The 49th-ranked Osaka lost to Emma Raducanu, 6-4, 6-2 in the Washington, DC round of 16 last week. Since she won her fourth Grand Slam championship at the 2021 Australian Open, Osaka has become a mom and spoken publicly about mental health battles. Osaka has played 12 majors since that 2021 AO victory and has yet to surpass the third round. She reached the third round of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year.
By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, July 28, 2025 Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty
Naomi Osaka didn’t waste time moving on from ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
Former world No. 1 Osaka will begin working with Polish coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, Iga Swiatek’s ex-coach, on a trial basis starting in Montreal this week.
It’s a case of trading coaches as Swiatek currently works with Osaka’s ex-coach Wim Fissette.
Under Coach Wiktorowski’s guidance, Swiatek captured four of her six Grand Slam titles. The pair parted in October of 2024 with Swiatek subsequently hiring Osaka’s ex-coach. Though Swiatek did not defend her Roland Garros championship, she made history as the first Polish player to win Wimbledon crushing Amanda Anisimova, 6-0, 6-0, in The Championships final earlier this month.
Swiatek commenced her run with Wiktorowski at the end of the 2021 season. The pair captured four of Swiatek’s Grand Slam titles during their three-year partnership, and logged 19 of Swiatek’s 22 career titles. She was previously coached by Piotr Sierzputowski, and the pair won Roland-Garros together in 2020.
“Coach Wiktorowski joined my team for three seasons, when I strongly needed changes and a fresh approach to my game,” Swiatek said after splitting wtih the Polish coach. “His experience, analytical and strategic attitude and enormous knowledge about tennis helped us to achieve things I’ve never dreamed of only a few months after we started working together.
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“Our main goal was to become No.1 player in the world and coach Wiktorowski was the one who said it first. We aimed very high, we headed to every tournament with a clear goal to win it. Together with coach Wiktorowski we won many tournaments and 4 Grand Slams.”
Naomi Osaka prepares for her opening match later today ✨
— Omnium Banque Nationale (@OBNmontreal) July 28, 2025
Osaka announced her split from Patrick Mouratoglou, who coached her for nearly 11 months, over the weekend.
“Merci Patrick. It was such a great experience learning from you,” Osaka posted on Instagram. “Wishing you nothing but the best. You are one of the coolest people I’ve ever met and I’m sure I’ll see you around.”
