Qinwen Zheng accuses coach of breaching contract to join Naomi Osaka's team

Qinwen Zheng recently accused her coach, Wim Fissette, of breaching their contract to join Naomi Osaka's coaching team.

She made these remarks right after winning the women's tennis final at the 2023 Asian Games. She defeated Zhu Lin in straight sets on Friday (September 29) to win a gold medal and a quota for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics.

Zheng ended her partnership with Pere Riba this summer and brought on board Wim Fissette. The Belgian coach has a track record of guiding players to Grand Slam glories, such as Kim Clijsters and, most recently, Naomi Osaka.

However, Fissette recently rejoined Osaka's coaching team as the Japanese prepared for a return to the tour in 2024 after a long break due to childbirth, leaving Zheng in search of a new coach.

Qinwen Zheng openly expressed her frustration with her coach's choice and described it as "very immoral" which caused harm to both her and her family.

"He broke the contract, and it is very immoral. This is his choice, and I will respect that. Even though this brings some harm to me and my family, I don’t want to talk about that person right now, don’t want to talk about him," the 2023 US Open quarterfinalist said in a post-match interview. (quotes translated from Chinese)

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Why did Naomi Osaka part ways with Wim Fissette in the first place?

Naomi Osaka pictured at the 2022 US Open - Day 2

Naomi Osaka began working with Wim Fissette shortly before the 2020 season. The Belgian guided Osaka to two Major titles, the 2020 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open, before eventually parting ways in 2022.

The four-time Grand Slam champion competed in the 2022 Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic and discussed her split with Fissette. She told the reporters:

"It was really good times with Wim and he's a really amazing coach. We didn't part on bad terms. I just felt I needed different energy, and at the same time, he's a very ambitious guy. I was getting injured and I'm sure he would have wanted to go to Wimbledon."

"So it was two different mindsets, I would say. But he's a really cool guy still. So confirming that there were no bad things happening," she added further.

Naomi Osaka gave birth to her daughter Shai two months ago and appeared at the US Open. While the two-time New York Slam winner was not competing, she was present in the audience to support her colleagues.