Patrick Mouratoglou confirms the reason why he split as coach of Naomi Osaka as he states what was 'missing'

Patrick Mouratoglou’s coaching stint with Naomi Osaka came to an abrupt end before the Canadian Open.

The tennis world exploded when their partnership was announced, as an all-star coach joined forces with one of the WTA’s biggest stars.

Excluding her clay court title in Saint-Malo at 125K level, the former world number one failed to win a title at WTA Tour level.

Following Osaka’s loss to Emma Raducanu in Washington D.C., she and Patrick Mouratoglou ended their partnership, and she is currently having a strong run in Montreal.

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Patrick Mouratoglou says he ‘could not solve’ Naomi Osaka’s lack of competitiveness

After Naomi Osaka split with Patrick Mouratoglou, she began working with Tomasz Wiktorowski on a trial basis.

So far she is enjoying learning from him. “I enjoy his coaching style,” Osaka said in Montreal. “He’s very direct and to the point. For someone like me, who my thoughts scatter around often, it’s very helpful.”

Despite Osaka and Mouratoglou’s respective records, they could not find the formula to help take the 27-year-old’s game to the next level.

During an interview with CNN Sports, Mouratoglou shared his perspective on why they were unable to attain plenty of success together.

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“The thing that was missing was the competitiveness,” the Frenchman said. “I think she’s a great competitor, but at that time she was not as good 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 at a 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.

“When we stopped, I said to her, ‘I mean, I think you’re ready. If you find the person that will help you get back your efficiency during the matches, I think you’re ready to do great results right now, and I hope it’s going to happen very soon.’”

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Patrick Mouratoglou says Naomi Osaka is ‘doing well’ at the Canadian Open

In her first tournament since splitting with coach Mouratoglou, Osaka has reached the semifinals of the Canadian Open.

Osaka saved two match points to beat Liudmila Samsanova in the second round and she has not dropped a set since.

The four-time Grand Slam champion is aiming for her first WTA Tour title since 2021 and Mouratoglou is impressed by what she sees.

“She’s doing well for the moment in Montreal. Let’s hope she’s going to go all the way,” Mouratoglou said. “I think her level of tennis is here.

“Physically, she is ready, and she’s a great competitor, she’s a great champion. So at some point, it’s going to work out. I have no doubt about it.”

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