Sascha Bajin, Naomi Osaka’s former coach, believes the four-time Grand Slam singles champion could return to the court next year after she gives birth.
In an interview with Essentially Sports, Bajin, 38, talked about Osaka, 25, and her hiatus from tennis.
“I do always want to think that she has the ability to bounce back,” the German former tennis player, who trained Osaka from 2017 to 2019, said. “It’s going to take a lot of work, but she’s still young. … The way she’s gifted with her body and her shots, she’s very fast around the court.”
“So, I definitely think if she gets the right people around her to help her make sure she dedicates as much as she can of [sic] besides being a mother, everything else into tennis, then I do want to give her a chance,” he continued.
“Is it going to be easy? Absolutely not. But can she do it? For sure.”
The two-time Australian Open champion cleared the air on Jan. 11 after announcing on Twitter that she is expecting her first child with her boyfriend, rapper Cordae.
Fans are now also dealing with another mystery as Osaka recently uploaded and then deleted an Instagram post showing her playing tennis.
In the carousel post, a pregnant Osaka could be seen practicing on the court under the watchful eye of retired American tennis player Andre Agassi. One of the post’s three videos reportedly showed her doing a low-impact fitness routine at the beach.
The post prompted several fans to question whether Agassi, an Olympic gold medalist and former world No. 1 tennis player, is now coaching the star athlete and Hana Kuma founder.
“Love it,” one Twitter user wrote.
“My guess is that she doesn’t want to get rusty and Agassi is helping her stay in shape and sharp. The fact that she’s training while pregnant and consulting with them tells me she wants to come back & really be on top,” another Twitter user said.
“An Agassi/Osaka coach/athlete pairing would be incredibly interesting. He had such a great return, & was so creative on court. He dealt with a lot of personal struggles that were even different to the struggles Naomi faces. But he still might be able to help,” another Twitter user said.
