Rick Macci tips Naomi Osaka to pull off "many upsets" in 2026 as Serena Williams' childhood coach also believes that the top-10 will be the Japanese's "best friend."
After struggling with consistency and failing to get to her desired results a year and a half into her post-pregnancy comeback, the former world No. 1 replaced Patrick Mouratoglou with Iga Swiatek's ex-coach Tomasz Wiktorowski.
The impact was instant as Osaka reached her first WTA 1000 final since 2022 in Montreal. A few weeks later, the 28-year-old also made the US Open semifinal - that was her first last-four outing at a Grand Slam since the 2021 Australian Open.
Naturally, back-to-back strong runs on the biggest stage positively impacted the Japanese's ranking, who went from being ranked outside the top-50 in June to finishing the season at No. 16.
Osaka showed flashes of her old tennis in the second part of 2025, and she shouldn't lack any confidence ahead of the 2026 Australian Open.
Macci: Osaka was a different player after making a coaching change... The top-10 will be her best friend in 2026
"Osaka to be the wildcard and pull many upsets this year. Top ten will be her best friend and be right there in the end. She was a different player last year with the coaching change and had clarity motivation and a better understanding of the geometry of the court," Macci wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Osaka landed in Perth over the weekend as she is set to kick off her season at the United Cup.
I hope so. I guess Ill let you know after my first few matches, but I think so. I feel like every year Im slowly getting stronger, so I hope next year Im better too," the former world No. 1 said when asked if she was ready for 2026.
Osaka will start her season on Friday when she takes on former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari at the United Cup.
