Rennae Stubbs thinks Naomi Osaka has done something ‘smart’ after losing early in Madrid as question asked about Patrick Mouratoglou

Follow us on Google Discover

Naomi Osaka is currently attempting to move on quickly from her disappointing venture at the Madrid Open.

Osaka lost her opening match at the 2025 Madrid Open, where she was defeated 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 by Lucia Bronzetti.

She suffered the same fate at Indian Wells, but the former world number one did then manage to reach the quarter-finals of the Miami Open.

The WTA Tour has since switched to clay from those hard court events, with the current tournaments building towards the French Open.

Osaka says Patrick Mouratoglou gives her confidence, although the pair are yet to win a title since linking up last year.

Rennae Stubbs asks question of Naomi Osaka and Patrick Mouratoglou

She appointed the experienced Mouratoglou as her coach shortly after parting ways with Wim Fissette, with former player Rennae Stubbs now sharing her take on the pairing.

“I don’t know honestly how long he will put up with it as well,” she said on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

READ MORE: Naomi Osaka reacts on social media after going out of the Miami Open to Jasmine Paolini

“He likes success. And so that is another interesting juxtaposition because yes Naomi Osaka is a massive name in tennis and clearly in the sport world, a lot of people have heard of Naomi Osaka. But you wonder how long he will deal with that as well and how long she will deal with it.

“I mean she has all the money in the world, she never has to work another day in her life, how much does someone like her want to put herself through this consistently on a weekly basis where she is not having the results?

“Clearly clay has never been her thing so maybe she is hoping to get some kind of confidence going into the hard court season but grass is not really her thing.”

Rennae Stubbs praises ‘smart’ Naomi Osaka decision after Madrid Open exit

Osaka isn’t wasting any time in pondering her Madrid Open disappointment, with another shot at glory elsewhere now on her mind.

Tennis fans are shocked Osaka is playing in Saint-Malo, having received a wildcard for the WTA 125 tournament.

READ MORE: Rennae Stubbs is getting annoyed by what Aryna Sabalenka keeps doing after losing in finals, ‘it’s not funny’

But Stubbs has praised the four-time major winner for the decision to take on the L’Open 35 de Saint-Malo, with Osaka playing a WTA 125 event for the first time in a decade.

Stubbs said: “She is playing a small tournament coming into this week, which is interesting to see if she can get this confidence.

“I don’t know if Patrick had an influence on her to do that. I think it is a smart thing because she is playing against players who are nowhere near as good as her, going into a smaller tournament, so hopefully she can get some confidence there. We know she can play well on clay because she pushed Iga [Swiatek].”

Osaka has been drawn to face 19-year-old Croatian Petra Marcinko first up, in what is just her second career WTA 125 appearance after he runner-up finish in Hua Hin, Thailand in 2015.