After the baby break, Naomi Osaka is currently working on her comeback. Her ex-coach Wim Fissette is at her side. A circumstance that is causing trouble in the tennis scene.
In order to work with Osaka again, Fissette left his previous protégé Qinwen Zheng. The Chinese woman was anything but enthusiastic about her coach’s decision. She vented her anger after her triumph at the Asian Games.
“I understand his decision, but my family and I feel hurt. At the moment, I don’t want to talk about this person,” Zheng said, referring to Fissette. The Belgian broke the contract. “This is very immoral,” criticized the 20-year-old.
With Fissette as coach, Osaka had already won the US Open in 2020 and the Australian Open in 2021. The 43-year-old had previously led Kim Clijsters to three Grand Slam titles and reached the Wimbledon final with Sabine Lisicki in 2013. Simona Halep, Viktoria Azarenka and Johanna Konta were also among Fissette’s clients.
Break has “ignited fire” at Osaka
Osaka gave birth to daughter Shai in July. The Japanese recently announced her comeback to coincide with the Australian Open in January 2024. The break, Osaka said in an interview with “ESPN” on the sidelines of the US Open in New York, “really lit a fire in me.” The 25-year-old was last on the court in Tokyo in September 2022.
Before her pregnancy, Osaka struggled with mental problems and was lagging behind in the form of her major triumphs.
The former world number one doesn’t want to put herself under pressure when she returns. She has “no idea” what her level will be, “and I think I’ll just have to get used to it again.” In order to get in shape by the end of the year, she plans to “play a lot more tournaments than I was used to,” Osaka announced.
2023-10-03 08:06:00
#Tennis #stars #comeback #trouble
