Japanese tennis superstar Naomi Osaka announced on Friday she was splitting with her coach, her second break-up this year as she battles for form and slips down the world rankings.
On the eve of the Pan Pacific Open tournament in Osaka, western Japan, the 21-year-old announced she would no longer be working with Jermaine Jenkins, who joined her team after her triumph at the Australian Open in January.
“Writing this to let you guys know that me and Jay won’t be working together anymore,” Osaka tweeted.
“I’m super grateful for the time we spent together and the things I learned on and off the court but I feel like now is a (sic) appropriate time for a change… Thank you for everything, it was a blast,” added Osaka.
Osaka had already caught the tennis world by surprise when she announced she was parting ways with coach Sascha Bajin, who had overseen her stunning rise to win two grand slams — the US Open in 2018 and the Australian Open title in January.
But her results since Melbourne have been patchy. She lost in the third round of the French Open to Katerina Siniakova from the Czech Republic, ranked 41 places below her in the world rankings.
