Naomi Osaka’s coach reveals ‘biggest challenge’ ahead of return to tennis and why there’s ‘so much potential’

Naomi Osaka’s performance coach has revealed the “biggest challenge” ahead for the former world No. 1 as she prepares to make her tennis comeback – and why she still has “so much potential”.

Osaka became a mother in the summer and has not played on the WTA Tour since September 2022.

She has rehired coach Wim Fissette and has also secured the return of performance coach Florian Zitzelsberger, who worked on Osaka’s team in 2022.

“Naomi is a pure talent, quite unbelievable. But still, I see a lot of athletic potential that we can work on.

“First and foremost, she has to stay healthy, but on the other side, there is so much potential to nurture, strengthen and conquer.”

Angelique Kerber is also set to play after giving birth this year, while Caroline Wozniacki, who came out of retirement in the summer after having two children, is aiming to compete again in Melbourne, where she won the title in 2018.

Although January seems to be fast approaching, Zitzelsberger says Osaka will not be rushed into things after so long out.

“Knowing her, she just wants to go back on court and play a lot of tennis, but we have a long-term plan. The most important thing is maintaining her health,” he said.

“I really credit Wim, because some coaches would just push every day to play on the court, to have a lot of tennis time. But he wants maximum quality in the strokes on the court, and then we go to the gym and do the work to get her healthy, to have her in a stable position.

“We know exactly where we want to be in one month, in two months and further into the future.

“At the moment, the biggest focus is not tennis. The biggest focus is just bringing her back to a really athletic and healthy state, while we can now work on court. From the tennis side, Wim now has the chance to work on things that we always wanted to work on but didn’t get the time before.”

Reflecting on the challenges ahead for four-time Grand Slam winner Osaka, Zitzelsberger said: “The combination of the pelvis and the trunk together is the power centre of the whole athlete. [During pregnancy], this power centre is not meant to create power but rather preparing a home for a healthy baby.

“The abdominal wall has to be lengthened and stretched in order for the baby’s proper development. You lose a lot of core strength.

“By losing the core strength, a lot of the movement chains are getting a little bit irritated. This is the biggest challenge is getting this back: getting powerful hips and getting better stabilisation again.”