Naomi Osaka reveals how she feels about coach Patrick Mouratoglou pushing her to make 'difficult' decision ahead of French Open

Naomi Osaka recently discussed participating at the 2025 L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo in Saint-Malo, France. According to the Japanese tennis icon, it was her coach Patrick Mouratoglou who pushed her to play at the relatively low-profile WTA 125-level claycourt tournament in the buildup to Roland-Garros. Osaka clinched the title in Saint-Malo, winning the final 6-1, 7-5 against Kaja Juvan.

Speaking to the official website of the French Open, rolandgarros.com, Osaka reflected on her first title triumph since 2021.

"It (L'Open 35 de Saint-Malo participation) was something that I didn't decide to do right away. Honestly, it was Patrick that kind of told me that he thinks, which he was right, it would be a better use of time to even practice playing the matches there," Osaka said.

The former No. 1 went on to shed light on the "pressure" she felt during her participation at the WTA 125-level tournament. However, she claimed that she stopped feeling the weight of expectations while playing in the event's semifinals against Leolia Jeanjean.

"I would say yes, there was a lot of pressure. I wouldn't really say it was to not lose, but it was more like I had in the back of my head, ‘I wonder what people would say about me if I lost here.’ Granted, I should never be thinking about that when I'm playing a tennis match, but I got over it during the semis," she added.

Naomi Osaka concluded by talking about the complexity behind deciding to participate at the tournament because of her "pride". The Japanese though, admitted that playing in Saint-Malo was a positive decision overall.

"I think the decision itself was kind of difficult, because in your mind, you do have a little bit of pride… I’m glad I went. It was a hard decision, and I'm happy with the outcome, though," the four-time Major champion concluded.

Osaka's success in Saint-Malo came on the back of her disappointing first-round exit from the Madrid Open, and gave her a much-needed confidence boost going into the Italian Open.

Naomi Osaka reached 4R in Rome before arriving at Roland Garros for French Open 2025

Naomi Osaka in action at the 2025 Italian Open (Source: Getty)

The Saint-Malo title triumph resulted in Naomi Osaka playing with much more confidence and freedom at the WTA 1000-level Italian Open. In Rome, the Japanese defeated home hope Sara Errani, Viktorija Golubic, and Marie Bouzkova to reach the fourth round.

Unfortunately for the former No. 1, her fourth-round opponent, Peyton Stearns, came out on top in their thrilling three-set match with a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) victory, leaving the Japanese's fans dejected.

At the 2025 French Open, the now 49th-ranked Osaka is set to lock horns with World No. 10 Paula Badosa in a tantalizing first-round clash on Monday, May 26. It will mark the pair's maiden WTA Tour-level match.