Naomi Osaka will "skyrocket" back to the Top 10 in 2024, says Serena Williams' ex-coach Rick Macci

Serena Williams' former coach Rick Macci is of the opinion that Naomi Osaka will return to the Top 10 of the WTA rankings in 2024.

Osaka first dropped out of the Top 10 in 2021 after cutting her season short for her mental well-being. She suffered a further drop in 2022 and ended the year ranked World No. 42.

Osaka is currently absent from the WTA Tour as she is expecting her first child. She announced her pregnancy in January, shortly after her withdrawal from the Australian Open and claimed that she would return to the tournament in 2024.

Serena Williams' former coach Rick Macci took to social media and claimed that Naomi Osaka would "skyrocket" her way back to the Top 10 of the WTA rankings because she would not lose her talent or her serve or groundstrokes.

"Naomi Osaka next year will 100% skyrocket back into the top ten. You do not lose the talent the laser groundies or that explosive serve to play right thru the field. Fitness and overall confidence takes time but with Four Slams in her back pocket she has been there done that," Macci wrote on Twitter.

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"There are plenty of male athletes with kids that are significantly less accomplished" - Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka in action at the 2022 US Open

Naomi Osaka recently took to Twitter to shut out any concerns about her career due to her pregnancy. The Japanese pointed out that there were a number of male counterparts with kids who accomplished less than she did.

"Btw to the people that are suddenly concerned about my career- There are plenty of male athletes with kids that are significantly less accomplished, you might wanna worry about them instead. Thanks for the concern, might wanna redirect it to someone that needs it though," Osaka's tweet read.

Osaka has not played a match since the 2022 Japan Open where she reached the second round after her first-round opponent Daria Saville suffered an injury early during the match. The four-time Grand Slam champion herself withdrew from the WTA 500 event due to an abdominal injury.

Osaka won 14 out of 23 matches during the 2022 season, with her most notable performance being reaching the final of the Miami Open, where she lost 6-4, 6-0 to World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. She also made it to the semifinals of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 and was scheduled to play Veronika Kudermetova before withdrawing due to an injury.