Naomi Osaka resorts to 'unhinged behavior' with her nail extensions as pre-season training for 2025 takes center stage
Naomi Osaka had to get rid of her nail extensions before beginning training for the 2025 season with her new coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The Japanese player resorted to "unhinged behavior" which she believes has damaged her nail beds forever.
Osaka made her highly anticipated return to the WTA Tour this year following a maternity hiatus in 2023. While she delivered some promising performances, her season lacked the consistency needed to progress to the latter stages of tournaments.
Osaka’s 2024 campaign was cut short after sustaining an injury during the China Open, forcing her to step away from competition for recovery. Despite this, there's optimism for her 2025 season, particularly after joining one of the most respected coaches on the tour in September. She has resumed training and shared a lighthearted moment on Instagram.
Posting a photo of her removed nail extensions, Osaka hilariously reflected on how the realization that her nails were too long to properly hold her racket led to a "panic." She captioned her Instagram Story:
"Unhinged behavior. The way I panicked yesterday because I knew my nails were potentially too long to hold my racquet... My nail beds will never recover"
Osaka also shared a lighthearted video featuring her coach Patrick Mouratoglou. The 27-year-old joked about having 'survived' the first day of intense preparations. Smiling through her exhaustion, she expressed gratitude for simply making it through the challenging session.
Earlier this year, Mouratoglou opened up about how highly motivated Osaka is.
"Naomi Osaka's extremely motivated to come back and win grand slams" - Patrick Mouratoglou
In a conversation with Sky Sports, Patrick Mouratoglou discussed how highly motivated Naomi Osaka is. The four-time Grand Slam champion last crossed the third round of a Major when she won the Australian Open in 2021 but the French coach believes the 27-year-old has come back to win another Grand Slam.
"Before the first tournament we did together she was #80 in the world and she knows she can do much better than that. She's extremely motivated to come back and win Grand Slams, and it's a pleasure for me because that's the dream of every coach: to have a player who has that level of motivation."
Osaka hired Wim Fissette at the start of the 2020 season and the Belgian coach began working with Zheng Qinwen when the Japanese player went on a hiatus. Upon her return, Osaka rehired Fissette but the pair split in September following which she hired Mouratoglou. Fissette, meanwhile, was hired by former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek.