"Naomi Osaka told him her trust had been broken" - New biography claims Sascha Bajin's relationship with another player caused split with Japanese

A new Naomi Osaka biography has detailed the story behind Naomi Osaka cutting ties with her former coach Sascha Bajin.

Osaka and Bajin began working together in 2017, and the partnership was very successful. From being ranked World No. 72, Osaka rose to the top of the WTA rankings courtesy winning the Indian Wells and US Open titles in 2018.

Bajin was even named the WTA coach of the year for his role in helping Osaka dominate the women's circuit.

Osaka continued her form into the following season, winning the Australian Open title too. But just 17 days after her win in Melbourne, she took to social media to announce her split with Bajin, a former hitting partner of Serena Williams.

“Hey everyone, I will no longer be working together with Sascha. I thank him for his work and wish him all the best in the future,” she said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

In a new Osaka biography, titled 'Naomi Osaka: Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice', journalist Ben Rothenberg has said that the two parted ways after Osaka discovered Bajin was dating a competitor.

“Naomi confronted Bajin, breaking the weeks-long silence between the, putting him on the spot about what she’d heard about his off-court relationship with another player,” he wrote. (via Tennis Channel)

“Bajin, who had encouraged Naomi to hit with this player at a tournament despite her much lower ranking, denied it repeatedly. The next day, when Bajin came back and admitted it was true, Naomi told him her trust had been broken,” he added.

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Making her tennis comeback, Naomi Osaka suffers second-round exit at Brisbane International

Naomi Osaka in action at the 2024 Brisbane International.

Naomi Osaka has made her comeback to the WTA tour this season, competing for the first time since the 2022 Toray Pan Pacific in Tokyo.

Osaka, who took a maternity break from the women's circuit, returned to action at the Brisbane International. She started the WTA 500 event by defeating Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 7-6(9), hitting 36 winners and registering 21 unforced errors.

In the second round, the four-time Grand Slam champion faced Karolina Pliskova. After losing the first set, Pliskova fought back to win 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 in two hours and fourteen minutes and end Osaka's campaign in Brisbane.

On Tuesday, January 9, Osaka was scheduled to play a charity match against Emma Raducanu in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open. However, both players announced by Monday night that they were pulling out.