Naomi Osaka suffers another disappointing defeat and will go into Wimbledon with just three grass court matches under her belt.
The Japanese player had a bright start to the season after reaching the final of Auckland’s ASB Classic in January.
But since then, the 27-year-old has suffered some injuries and has lost several close matches early in tournaments.
However, Osaka did win her first clay court title on the WTA Tour’s secondary professional tennis circuit at the L’Open 35 de Saint-Malo.
While the former world number one is competitive in many of these matches, she is struggling to turn many of them into wins, and Serena Williams’ former coach thinks he knows why.
Photo by Mathias Schulz/Newhouse Media/MB Media/Getty ImagesRick Macci thinks he knows what Naomi Osaka is doing wrong in matches after her defeat to Emma Navarro
Osaka took on Emma Navarro at the Bad Homburg Open. She was broken to love in set one, which allowed Navarro to move ahead 5-4 in the opening set, before the American successfully served out the set.
The four-time Grand Slam champion missed a golden opportunity to break serve in the second set, but she squandered a 0-40 advantage while leading 2-1.
Navarro then broke serve later in the set to move ahead 5-4, and as she did in set one, closed out the set and the match to win.
Post-match Williams’ former coach Rick Macci outlined the struggles facing Osaka, who hit 42 unforced errors against Navarro.
“Some players maybe cannot play as well on grass because they do not like it. Remember if you do not like it the grass feels the same way about you Osaka,” Macci posted on social media platform X.
“Osaka and her serve on grass is one of the best if she is using her slice. Her serve alone can keep her right there with anybody.
“But she is not controlling the baseline like in the past and her ability to run through balls and produce quality is a few milliseconds late.”
Photo by Al Bello/Getty ImagesEmma Navarro assesses Naomi Osaka’s performance and playing Jessica Pegula next
Navarro has won both of her matches against Osaka and has yet to lose a set against her.
She will next play Jessica Pegula, who she has yet to defeat, but Navarro is looking forward to the challenge of going up against her fellow American.
“I think I played a lot of good tennis,” Navarro said during her on-court interview. “So did she, she made it really tough on me. Definitely there’s some things to work on too, so I’ll be looking forward to improving for next round.”
“[Pegula] might be listening from the hotel, so I can’t give away too much,” Navarro said. “I have to keep my cards close to my chest.
“Jess is awesome, she’s been a really great role model for me coming up. We’ve shared a lot of great experiences on the court and off court.
“She brings a great energy to the tour, she’s very chill, very relaxed, and very smart as well. So I have a lot to learn from her.”