Patrick Mouratoglou remains confident in Naomi Osaka’s potential to return to the top of women’s tennis. After Osaka claimed her first clay court title at the WTA 125 tournament in Saint-Malo, Mouratoglou spoke to Tennis Majors about her progress, her challenges on clay, and what the future might hold.
Osaka had a rough start to her clay season, losing in the first round of the Mutua Madrid Open to Lucia Bronzetti in three sets (6-4, 2-6, 6-4). Despite that early exit, Mouratoglou and Osaka made a last-minute decision to play in Saint-Malo—a move that paid off.
“A trophy is a trophy,” said Mouratoglou. “It wasn’t easy. Naomi came in after a first-round loss in Madrid, which hurt her confidence. Clay has never been her favorite surface, and playing a WTA 125 event added pressure—because she couldn’t afford to lose. All of that made it a tough challenge.”
Still, Mouratoglou emphasized that winning wasn’t the only goal in Saint-Malo. The main aim was for Osaka to gain match experience on clay.
“That’s what she needed—to play more matches on this surface,” he said. “She needed wins, and she got them. She also needed to feel comfortable on clay, and this tournament helped her with that.”
Osaka had spent time training on clay at the Mouratoglou Academy after the Miami Open. Her coach believes that preparation was crucial.
“She worked hard during that training block,” Mouratoglou explained. “She was ready to compete, but she needed actual matches. That’s exactly what she got in Saint-Malo. I had no doubt she could play well on clay.”
Throughout her career, Osaka has performed best on hard and grass courts, where her aggressive style shines. But clay has remained a challenge—until now. Mouratoglou believes the problem was never Osaka’s skill, but her lack of experience.
“She’s never spent enough time on clay,” he said. “Because of that, she had many early losses, and maybe she felt like her game didn’t suit the surface. But there’s no real reason why she can’t do well on clay. Now that she’s had good training and some wins, she’s ready.”
With Rome and Roland Garros on the horizon, expectations are rising. Still, Mouratoglou says their focus remains on building confidence.
“The goal is for Naomi to feel good on clay, to believe she can play freely and with confidence,” he said. “This week, in some moments, she played at a Top 5 level. That’s what I hope she brings to the next tournaments.”
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