Archive of posts tagged Tomasz Wiktorowski

Coach Patrick Mouratoglou sheds light on what led to split with Naomi Osaka

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Auckland

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.

Osaka Continues Torrid Tennis, Reaching First Semifinal in Canada

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By Chris Oddo | Tuesday August 5, 2025

New coach, new vibes?

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.

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.

Opportunity Knocks For These Five Players in Canada

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By Chris Oddo | Monday August 4, 2025

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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Tennis Express player gear

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
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

Osaka: Three Reasons for Montreal Resurgence

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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.

Anastasija Sevastova

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.

Montreal: Naomi Osaka delivers perfect display for QF, destroys rival in 49 minutes

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Amanda Anisimova

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.

Osaka to Trial Swiatek’s Ex-Coach Wiktorowski 

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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.

The Polish website Polski Tennis reported the new partnership, confirmed by journalist Courtney Nguyen.

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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Tennis Express player gear

“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.”

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.”