Naomi Osaka announces she is no longer working with coach Patrick Mouratoglou
'Merci Patrick,' Osaka began her post, with a photo of her hitting a practice serve while he stands nearby. 'It was such a great experience learning from you. 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.'
The news comes three days after Osaka lost her second match at the D.C. Open and just before she begins competing in Toronto. The U.S. Open, the year's last major tournament and an event Osaka won twice, begins in New York on Aug. 24.
Osaka hired Mouratoglou — who was the longtime coach of Serena Williams — when she fired Wim Fissette shortly after her second-round exit at last year's U.S. Open.
Osaka, a former No. 1, is currently ranked 51st and has a 21-11 record this season.
She hasn't been past the third round at a Grand Slam tournament since winning the 2021 Australian Open.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
Jannik Sinner and Emma Navarro top list of US Open mixed doubles teams
The USTA confirmed 14 of the 16 teams Tuesday for the new U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament that has been reimagined with the goal of enticing top singles players to participate. Leading the entry list, at least in star power, will be No. 1 Jannik Sinner paired with American Emma Navarro and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz playing alongside 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu. Venus Williams, who came back to the tennis tour last week at age 45, received a wild-card entry to play with her longtime friend Reilly Opelka, the 6-foot-11 serve specialist currently ranked No. 74 in the world. The USTA announced its mixed doubles overhaul in June, hoping to bring eyeballs and pizzaz to an event that had fallen off the public's radar as tennis further stratified into singles and doubles specialists. Long gone are the days when top players like Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe would regularly play at least one doubles event at the Grand Slams. But with players now preferring to focus all their energy on singles, the USTA completely overhauled the format. Not only will mixed doubles now take place during qualifying week – the week before the main draw begins – the USTA also pumped up the prize money with $1 million going to the winning team. The first three rounds of the tournament will be played in a short format with sets to four instead of the normal six, no-ad scoring and a tiebreaker in lieu of a full third set. The final will be played with sets to six and a 10-point tiebreaker if there's a third set. Making the format friendly for players as they prepared for the main draw was enough to attract most of the top-10 on both the men's and women's tour to enter initially. The USTA awarded eight direct entries into the 16-team field based on the team's combined singles ranking and reserved eight wild cards to use at the tournament's discretion. Novak Djokovic, the all-time leader with 24 men's Grand Slam singles titles, received a wild card because he chose Olga Danilovic, a 24-year old Serbian ranked No. 40, as his partner. The last two wild cards will be announced closer to the tournament. There is also a possibility at least one team will be forced to withdraw, potentially opening up more spots in the field. Teams for the US Open mixed doubles tournament No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 11 Emma Navarro No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 33 Emma Raducanu No. 3 Alexander Zverev and No. 20 Belinda Bencic No. 4 Taylor Fritz and No. 12 Elena Rybakina No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 10 Paula Badosa No. 6 Novak Djokovic and No. 40 Olga Danilovic No. 7 Ben Shelton and Taylor Townsend (No. 1 in doubles) No. 9 Holger Rune and No. 7 Amanda Anisimova No. 12 Francis Tiafoe and No. 8 Madison Keys No. 13 Casper Ruud and No. 3 Iga Swiatek No. 14 Daniil Medvedev and No. 5 Mirra Andreeva No. 15 Tommy Paul and No. 4 Jessica Pegula Reilly Opelka and Venus Williams Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani (defending US Open champions)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Venus Williams receives a wild-card entry with Reilly Opelka to play mixed doubles at the US Open
NEW YORK (AP) — Venus Williams' comeback is headed to the U.S. Open next month, when she will enter the redesigned mixed doubles tournament with Reilly Opelka via a wild-card entry. The 45-year-old Williams, who returned to the tennis tour last week after more than a year away, and Opelka were among the 14 teams announced Tuesday by the U.S. Tennis Association for its mixed doubles event on Aug. 19-20. Eight of the pairings received direct entry into the field based on having the highest combined current singles rankings, and six were given wild cards by the USTA. ___ More AP tennis: Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Tadej Pogačar skips Spanish Vuelta to recover from Tour de France triumph
PARIS (AP) — Four-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar has decided against taking part in the Spanish Vuelta next month as he recovers after winning cycling's biggest race. 'After such a demanding Tour, we decided it was best to take a break,' Pogačar said. 'The Vuelta is of course a race I would dearly love to return to. I have fantastic memories there from 2019 (finishing third), but now the body is telling me to rest.' The Slovenian rider from the UAE Team Emirates-XRG was not included in the eight-man squad for the Vuelta, which will start on Aug. 23. The team will be led by Portuguese rider João Almeida — who retired from the Tour earlier this month after fracturing a rib — and Spain's Juan Ayuso. After doing the Giro d'Italia and Tour double last year, Pogačar had planned to ride both the Tour and the Vuelta this summer. 'The idea this year was for Tadej to return to the Vuelta, but the season has been a long one for him,' the team's sports manager Matxin Fernández said. "We spoke and agreed that the best thing for him now is to take a good rest and build up to his final season goals.' It has already been a long season for Pogačar, a versatile rider known for his unsatiable appetite for victory. In addition to his Tour title, he also won the Critérium du Dauphiné, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Flèche Wallonne and Strade Bianche this year. On the way to his fourth Tour title, Pogačar won four stages to take his Tour tally to 21, and 30 at major races, including six at the Giro d'Italia and three at the Vuelta. Only four riders have won the Tour de France five times: Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Induráin and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault. Pogačar will take a break until September. He is planning to compete in North America at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec and Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. 'I'm excited to go back to Canada. The races are tough but beautiful, and they fit my style well,' said Pogačar, who also wants to defend his world champion title later this year in Kigali, Rwanda. "I'll be aiming to be back racing well again for that part of the season and for the world championships especially.' ___ More AP Tour de France stories:
