Sports
Patrick Mouratoglou’s tennis partnership with Naomi Osaka and coaching superstars
The way phenomenal and accomplished athletes’ minds work can often catch regular folks off-guard. How is it that a tennis player like Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, would ever get to a place where she might question her ability?
It happens all the time, even with the all-time greats — a subset of the tennis species that Patrick Mouratoglou, the longtime coach and tennis media impresario, has spent most of his career studying. He coached the best of the best, Serena Williams, at the scene of so many of her greatest triumphs.
In September 2024, three-quarters of the way through her comeback season after giving birth to her daughter, Shai, Osaka hired Mouratogou to replace Wim Fissette. Osaka had reunited with Fissette (who coached her between 2019 and 2022) the previous summer, to prepare for her return to competitive tennis last January. At first, she was magnanimous about the relationship between improvement and outcome. When she came within a point of beating Iga Swiatek at last year’s French Open, Osaka wasn’t down: “Obviously the results aren’t resulting right now, but I think I’m growing every tournament,” she said in her news conference.
When the results still didn’t result, Osaka found herself again struggling with her confidence and decided to move away from the coach with whom she won two of those four Grand Slam titles.
Osaka, 27, hasn’t won a title of any kind with Mouratoglou yet, but she has come awfully close. She had to retire with an abdominal injury when she was up a set against Clara Tauson in the final of the Auckland Classic in New Zealand in January and she has played her best tennis since becoming a mother in the past five months, when her body has allowed her to do so.
“I just had to believe in myself a lot more,” Osaka said at the Australian Open after her second-round win over Karolina Muchova, one of the world’s most gifted players, who had eased past Osaka at the same stage of the U.S. Open four months prior. There in Melbourne, Osaka was talking about coming back to win the last two sets after losing the first 6-1, but she could have been talking about how, when healthy, she has rediscovered her swagger and her ability to take the racket out of her opponents’ hands.
That is not an accident.
In an interview in February from Los Angeles, where he and Osaka prepared for her comeback from that abdominal injury, Mouratoglou said they have been working on confronting those moments when she feels her belief slipping and on figuring out ways to overcome them.
Patrick Mouratoglou with Naomi Osaka at January’s Australian Open. (David Gray / AFP via Getty Images)
“You earn confidence with what you do every day in practice,” Mouratoglou said.
After two weeks of hard training, Osaka will try to bring that swagger to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif., this week.
In the interview, Mouratoglou, 54, said he expects nothing less from Osaka, a player he says comes to the court every day with an open mind and a hunger to try anything to get better.
All the great ones do.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
GO DEEPER
Naomi Osaka and the gravity of a superstar at the U.S. Open
How is her injury feeling?
She has no pain anymore. We have been serving, but slowly and progressively. She’s done the work to try to make sure she does not get hurt again.
What is it like to work with players at her level? How does she compare with Serena Williams?
I don’t compare anyone to Serena. It is very exciting, because of her potential. She has the potential to win very many more Slams. Her motivation is very high. Tennis is a big priority and she is prepared to come back all the way.
How do you know if you are a good fit with her?
I don’t know if it’s a good fit — all the players are different, and as a coach you need to adapt.
Is it any different when you are coaching a superstar rather than some of the players you have worked with who are not at that level?
It’s very important when you work with a superstar that you do the same as if the player is not a superstar. You need to talk to a person in a normal way, like she is a normal player. When they achieve so much they have certainties about what they do, but they have to be open enough to learn and continue to grow. That’s where Naomi is. She really wants to improve. She’s really taking the advice, and giving 100 percent. She is not scared. That’s the champion’s mindset.
It’s interesting you say that. I would have thought people who have won so much in the past think they know how to do it again.
They are champions because they are doing what it takes to improve; their ability to trust the person working with them to tell them what to do and what it takes. That makes them champions.
Rafa (Nadal) and Novak (Djokovic), they went through so many technical changes. They see the sport as a race. Everybody is improving. That is how Serena was seeing the world. If you’re happy with what you have and don’t try new things, you will be overtaken by others. The progress comes from seeing which areas you can get better with.
Why is Osaka better now than she was last year?
Her confidence is much higher. This comes from what she has done at practice. She’s practising extremely well. She pushes herself. Her game has gained in consistency. A player has to be aware of how she is feeling, even if she feels she is losing confidence. Before, she didn’t express it to herself. Most of the matches, she lost because she stopped believing and this is not allowed.
We do practice matches. She is aware of what she is feeling. We talk about it. We work on it in the moment. It’s fine to have that feeling, it’s natural — there is no shame in being nervous. We just have to be aware of it. It can affect you but it can’t affect you too much — Novak gets super-nervous or angry, but the most important thing is the ability to come back very fast. Otherwise, you are losing points and points and points. You have the right to become nervous and lose confidence, but not too much and not for too long.
You don’t talk much during matches other than small messages of encouragement. Why?
There is not so much to say, unless I see she is not following the plan one way or another. The match, we prepare it before. The only thing I can do is to support her.
In the Muchova match in Melbourne, Muchova was playing great and Naomi was struggling to get to her level. I’ve seen that in the past year. I found out that when she was in trouble, her confidence level would drop a lot and the game was affected.
Her first tournament in China, she had lost 20 matches in a row when she had lost the first set. This time, she didn’t let what was happening on the court play with her mind. It’s impossible not to be affected by the score. They need to be affected by the score. How much it affects you and does it affect you in a way that can harm you is the question. You want to be affected but stay under control. Keep believing in what you are doing.
Is that what she did against Muchova?
She stayed mentally there. You don’t go away. Nobody plays perfectly from the first point to the last.
When you coached Serena, you went up against Osaka. Did you share your old game plans with her?
No. You don’t want to reinforce the spots that are weaker. I also don’t think you win by improving your mistakes so much. You prepare solutions, and you make your strong points better. If someone has a good game plan to beat Jannik Sinner, I would like to see it. Players at that level, you have to catch them on a certain day when there are weak spots.
I want my players to know how to turn their strengths into weapons: ‘What is my player’s game style and how do they win points?’.
So what are Osaka’s strengths at this point that should be her weapons?
When she is at the top of the game, she plays faster than anyone. She makes it very difficult to organize a point against her. She comes back to you with the ball in such a short time. When the ball touches the racket, it goes so fast to the other side of the net, and she can be very accurate with hitting her spots.
She also has big room for improvement. She can return better, be more aggressive on the second serve, take time away from the opponent better. The good thing is that she is extremely open to new ideas. I told her what I thought when I arrived and she told me she was very excited to get to work because she believed she was going to learn new things.
Naomi Osaka holds the Australian Open trophy after the 2019 final. (Getty Images)
Is that what the best ones tell you?
Absolutely. They forget what they have achieved one minute after they achieve it. Serena finishes 2012 winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and the Olympics and the WTA Tour Finals. She’s walking off the court and tells me to come up with a plan for her to win the French Open. She says, “I’ve been chasing it for 10 years. I want to win Roland Garros, make a plan for me to win it.” (Williams won the 2013 French Open.)
The past is the past. It’s important not to look at the past. ‘Let’s move on. Always focus on the journey, where we want to go’. That’s Naomi right now. She’s very ambitious. She believes her story is still to be written. That’s important, because when you hold a trophy it only lasts a few minutes. You have to be excited about what’s next.
What has changed about tennis in recent years?
In general, the fitness level has improved a lot. It’s easy to explain. All of the top players travel with a fitness coach and physiotherapist. It was not true before. The movement of the players is so much better. On the women’s side, (Aryna) Sabalenka, for her height, is moving so well. And then Iga (Swiatek) and Coco (Gauff).
(Carlos) Alcaraz, Sinner, it’s crazy how they move on the court. Even someone like Tomas Machac. So it’s harder to hit winners, to get the ball through the court. If Naomi keeps evolving as she is, she will be able to hit as many winners again.
Naomi said she didn’t know if you would actually be a good coach, because you had coached Serena and she wondered whether Serena even needed coaching. Others sometimes question how much impact you have when you are coaching these all-time greats? How does that affect you?
People who say that don’t know what they are talking about. If I coach Naomi and she doesn’t do something well, I’m going to hear about it. I take no special pride in coaching champions. For me, if I don’t bring her to her top level, I didn’t do a good job.
(Top photo: David Gray / AFP via Getty Images)
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The WNBA season has been in session for about a week, so it is far too early to make assumptions about teams. That doesn’t mean we won’t make them; it’s just too early to really believe it. I lost my first WNBA bet this season, so I’m hoping to avenge that loss here as the Sky take on the Mercury.
The Chicago Sky are one of the most poorly run franchises in basketball. They have had some great names on their team and only one championship to show for it.
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner shoots over Indiana Fever guard Aerial Powers in the first half at PHX Arena. (Rick Scuteri/Imagn Images)
There really isn’t a clear indication of what is wrong with the franchise, but they’ve never been able to retain their talent. Aside from Kamilla Cardoso, I can’t name a player on this team that they’ve actually drafted. They just seem to get good players and then show them the door.
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Even though they’ve had questionable front office decisions, they seem to have put together a solid team for this season – something I didn’t expect before the season started.
They are 2-0, which is too early to really say they are a good team. I also want to reserve judgment until they face a team with a longer history than last year. The Portland Tempo played their first-ever game against the Sky, and Golden State was good last year, but still is in just their second season of existence.
The Phoenix Mercury are actually considered one of the best franchises in the league. I’m sure there are issues that people have reported, but for the most part, they have good facilities, and people want to play for their team. They made it all the way to the WNBA Finals last season before falling to the Las Vegas Aces. This year, they are looking to restart that journey and see if they can win the last game of the year.
Phoenix Mercury guard Kahleah Copper dribbles the ball in the second half at CareFirst Arena in Washington, D.C., on July 27, 2025. (Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images)
It will need to come with some better play than they’ve shown through three games this year. They are just 1-2 for the year with a 0-1 home record. The lone win was a blowout victory over the Aces (a clear revenge game if we’ve ever seen one). Then they lost the next two games against Golden State and Minnesota. Losing to the Lynx wouldn’t be a problem, but they didn’t have Napheesa Collier, who still has an ankle injury.
I expect the Mercury to make some adjustments for this game. They haven’t looked very crisp to begin the year, but they’ve been strong on offense, averaging 87 points per game.
The Sky are going to keep relying on their offense to do just enough and their defense to lock in. The Sky do have an edge on the interior, so they can get buckets fairly easily down low. I like the over 166.5 in this game.
Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins chases the ball during the fourth quarter against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on May 13, 2026. (Bob Kupbens/Imagn Images)
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I also think it is worth betting on Kahleah Copper to go over her point total. Copper had two rough games before she broke out in the last game. Now she has the same sight lines and can attack the bigs from the Sky with her athleticism. Since going to Phoenix, she has scored 29, 7, 16, 25 and 28 points in five games against them.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
Tom Harp has been coaching volleyball at Granada Hills High for so long that few remember he won a City Section championship as a co-head football coach with Darryl Stroh in 1987.
In the 1990s, he turned exclusively to coaching boys’ and girls’ volleyball, winning a combined 15 City titles and making 28 finals appearances. The top-seeded Highlanders will try to deliver a seventh Open Division championship on Saturday when they face West Valley League rival Chatsworth in a 4 p.m. final at Birmingham.
The league rivals split their two West Valley matches, with each going five games. Chatsworth knocked off 17-time champion Palisades in the semifinals. MIT-bound Grant Chang is Chatsworth’s 6-foot-6 powerful outside hitter.
All-City volleyball player RJ Francisco of Granada Hills shows off his hitting skills against Chatsworth.
(Craig Weston)
Granada Hills has RJ Francisco, who had 19 kills in a win over Chatsworth.
The Southern Section Division 1 final is Friday night, with Mira Costa taking on Loyola in a 7:30 p.m. match at Cerritos College.
Regional and state playoffs begin next week.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Cedric Alexander becomes new TNA X Division champion, crushing Leon Slater’s history-making attempt
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All eyes were on the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) X Division Championship on Thursday night as Leon Slater looked to retain the title over Cedric Alexander and solidify himself as the longest-reigning X Division champion in the company’s history.
Slater knew a legacy was on the line as he looked to break a record set by Austin Aries. But he needed to pin Alexander twice in one match to retain the title. It was a steep mountain to climb as Alexander had been just as dangerous since he entered the company.
The match started off hot with Slater and Alexander trading blows to begin the match. But a quick-thinking Slater rolled up Alexander quickly for the first fall.
Cedric Alexander in the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 23, 2025. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
Alexander was able to go on offense from there. He hit a nasty German suplex on the outside of the ring. He continued to work on Slater’s tweaked neck. He later hit a Lumbar Check to tie the match at 1-1.
Slater went deep into his bag. He hit an avalanche Styles Clash, which could have kept anyone else down. However, Alexander kicked out. Alexander was able to counter Slater’s high-flying abilities just for a moment and knocked him back out of the ring.
Alexander sent Slater into the steel steps, leaving him busted open. Alexander declared that he would be the “greatest” X Division champion. One brainbuster later, Alexander tried to pin Slater, but couldn’t get him down.
Alexander hit a Lumbar Check again, but Slater kicked out. Slater mustered up the last ounce of energy. A tilt-a-whirl slam set Alexander up for a swanton 450. Slater missed and Alexander hit another Lumbar Check, and then again.
Leon Slater enters the arena during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Jan. 6, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE)
Alexander pinned Slater for the win, completely shocking the fans in Sacramento, California. It will be the first reign for Alexander and his first title of any kind in TNA.
Alexander is a reminder, at least for TNA, that “The System always wins.”
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Fabian Aichner appears
Fabian Aichner, formerly known as Giovanni Vinci, makes his way to the ring during WWE SmackDown at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Calif., on Sept. 20, 2024. (WWE/Getty Images)
Moments before TNA went off the air, the lights went out in the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Emerging from the darkness was Fabian Aichner.
Aichner stared down Alexander and appeared to name himself the next challenger for the X Division Championship. Aichner, known as Giovanni Vinci for much of his run in WWE, hadn’t really been seen or heard from in months since his departure from WWE.
Aichner wrestled under his real name for a stint in WWE before he came back as Vinci in June 22. He was with WWE until 2025. He was a two-time NXT tag team champion and an Evolve champion before it became a WWE brand.
Eric Young earns future shot at TNA World Championship
Eric Young outlasted nine other men in an over-the-top battle royal and earned a shot at Mike Santana’s TNA World Championship to start the show.
The match came down to him and Elijah after the latter was able to toss members of The System out of the ring while also avoiding Frankie Kazarian trying to get back into the match following his own elimination.
Young and Elijah came to blows on the apron, knowing that as soon as their feet touch the ground, they would be eliminated. Young grabbed onto Elijah’s hair to try to hang onto the moment. Elijah broke away with Young’s back turned to him. Elijah, however, didn’t account for his wide stance.
The TNA original kicked Elijah in the groin and pushed him down to the ground. Young won the match and received a shot to win the TNA World Championship in the future.
He also made clear that Santana was next on his list of people to wipe out as he did to Joe Hendry, EC3 and Ricky Sosa in weeks past.
“Mike Santana, you’re gone next,” he declared.
Mike Santana learns his next opponent
Mike Santana stands in the ring during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Sept. 30, 2025. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)
Mike Santana came out to address the crowd and praised Young for his efforts to help build TNA from the ground up.
“You better be coming with something different because while you may be someone who helped build this place, when it comes to the new era of TNA on AMC, I’m the guy. I’m the man. I’m the one who holds down the fort week after week as your TNA world champion.”
While Young might have earned a title shot, Daria Rae came out and revealed to the crowd that Steve Maclin was cleared to return to action following an injury at the hands of Santana.
Maclin will get a shot at Santana’s TNA World Championship next week on “Impact.”
Santino Marella also came out during the segment after he was “suspended.” He revealed that Indi Harwell re-signed with TNA.
Lei Ying Lee, Xia Brookside rivalry heats up
Xia Brookside attends the “Freelance” screening at Regal Waterford Lakes in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 24, 2023. (Jose Devillegas/Getty Images)
Lei Ying Lee brought the TNA Knockouts Championship back home last week with a win over Arianna Grace. She addressed the crowd before being interrupted by her former best friend, Xia Brookside.
In all black, Brookside claimed she was already in Lei’s head.
“You’re such a fraud. I’ve destroyed you mentally, I’ve destroyed you emotionally, I’ve destroyed you physically, and that title will be around my waist.”
Both competitors tossed expletives at each other before the segment was over. But Brookside made clear that she had her eyes on the title.
AJ Francis prevails over KC Navarro
A.J. Francis told Fox News Digital before the SacTown Street Fight on “Impact” that he was going to bring the pain to Navarro.
While wearing “Show Stealer” across his back, Francis did just that. Francis took some punishment from Navarro – a few shots from a baseball bat and a drop kick with a trash can.
Francis was able to turn the tide for a few moments, using the baseball bat to his advantage. But Navarro dug deep. He aligned six chairs in the ring, hoping to splash Francis through it. Instead, Francis countered and attempted an avalanche Down Payment. Somehow, Navarro countered with a cutter as both men crashed through the sea of chairs.
It looked like it could’ve been it. Navarro went for the pin, but only got a two count.
Francis turned on the heat from there. He got ahold of Navarro and hit a Down Payment through tables lined up on the outside of the ring.
He rolled Navarro back into the ring and picked up the pinfall victory.
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“Impact” match results
- Eric Young wins the 10-man battle royal to earn a shot at the TNA World Championship.
- A.J. Francis def. KC Navarro in a SacTown Street Fight.
- Rosemary and Allie def. Veronica Crawford and Mila Moore
- Cedric Alexander def. Leon Slater to win the X Division Championship.
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