Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach Points Out Huge Weaknesses in Naomi Osaka’s Game Affecting Grand Slam Success

Shortcomings in Naomi Osaka’s game, which might be impacting her success at Grand Slam tournaments, were recently pointed out by Serena Williams’ former coach, Rick Macci.

This year, in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year, the 2025 Australian Open, Osaka defeated Caroline Garcia and Karolína Muchová in the first two rounds. However, she withdrew during her third-round match against Belinda Bencic due to an abdominal injury.

Serena Williams’ Ex-Coach Mentions Naomi Osaka’s Shortcomings

After giving birth to her daughter, Shai, in July 2023, Osaka made her return to the court in 2024. Since then, her best performance at the Grand Slam level has been reaching the third round of the Melbourne Major this year.

Looking ahead, the next Grand Slam tournament in which the former World No. 1 will compete is at the 2025 French Open, beginning her campaign on Monday, May 26, 2025.

Ahead of her first-round match, Rick Macci took to social media and mentioned that Osaka’s “firepower” and strong serve speed have previously helped her in winning her four Grand Slam titles.

However, Macci pointed out that since her return to the court post-pregnancy, Osaka appears to be hesitant in her initial movement, which may be hindering her performance at the Grand Slam tournaments.

“Osaka has the firepower off the ground and can tatoo a serve 118 [mph] so the 3 big ticket items that helped her get Grand Slams are still Seen. But since the comeback her movement first step and overall anticipation it seems has a little hesitation,” Macci posted on X.

Ahead of beginning her campaign at the 2025 French Open, Osaka participated in the Italian Open, where she reached the fourth round before being eliminated by Payton Stearns.

Osaka Set To Face Paula Badosa in 1st Round of the French Open

Osaka is set to face 10th seed Paula Badosa in the first round of the 2025 French Open. The Spaniard achieved her best result at the clay court Grand Slam in 2021 when she reached the quarterfinals. During that run, she triumphed over players like Lauren Davis, Danka Kovinić, Ana Bogdan, and Markéta Vondroušová, before being eliminated by Tamara Zidanšek.

Last year, the former World No. 2 advanced to the third round of the French Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka.

In preparation for the 2025 French Open, Badosa has participated in only one clay-court event — the 2025 Internationaux de Strasbourg. There, she defeated Marie Bouzková before being defeated by Liudmila Samsonova in the quarterfinals.

The first-round match between Osaka and Badosa will be their first encounter on the WTA Tour. The two players were first scheduled to meet on the Tour in the second round of the 2025 Italian Open, but the Spaniard withdrew due to a back injury, leading to her replacement by Viktorija Golubic.

The winner of this match will advance to the second round, where they will face either Elena-Gabriela Ruse or McCartney Kessler.