Celebrated tennis coach Wim Fissette and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka have split after two and a half years of working together.
The former world No.1 Osaka hired Fissette in late 2019, her fourth coaching partnership within a year. The Belgian coach led Osaka to two major titles, the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open. Previously, he had won Grand Slams with Kim Clijsters and Angelique Kerber, while he also had very successful partnerships with Simona Halep and Victoria Azarenka.
It was Fissette who first announced the split in an Instagram post:
It has been a privilege to coach Naomi since 2019 and see her grow into the champion she has become. She has inspired a whole new generation to fall in love with the game and to speak up for what they believe in and it’s been incredible to play a part in that journey.
Thank you, Naomi Osaka. I wish you all the best and looking forward to my next chapter.
The current world No.38 Osaka hasn’t played since a first-round loss at Roland Garros in May. The Japanese is set to return to competition at the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in San Jose as a wildcard.
I think this is the best move for Wim as he clearly enjoys being a coach and Naomi struggles with tour life and doesn’t seem to want to be on the tour. All that being said how good would it be for the tour if Naomi could commit and get some good results.