"Whoever's giving Naomi Osaka career advice needs to stop","He dropped Zheng Qinwen for this?"- Fans react to Japanese's split with coach Wim Fissette

Naomi Osaka recently announced her split from coach Wim Fissette. The Belgian coach had upset Zheng Qinwen by leaving her for Osaka last year. Many fans called it "karma" for Fissette, while others expressed disappointment with Osaka.

Fissette was the Japanese player's coach from 2019 to 2022 before splitting. He joined Zheng's entourage in 2023 but the Chinese alleged that the coach breached his contract to return to Osaka. She was furious and called him "immoral" for his actions.

Almost a year after his return to Osaka's coaching staff, the two-time Grand Slam winner and Fissette have split. The 25-year-old took to her Instagram story to announce their split and wish her former coach the best.

Many fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their reaction to the split. Some called it "karma" for the coach leaving Zheng, who won this year's Paris Olympics gold medal.

"He dropped Qinwen Zheng for this? Karma!" one wrote.

"She stole that coach for nothing 😂😂😂" another wrote.

"Poached him for no reason. Turned out well for Qinwen tho," a third fan wrote.

According to some reports, Osaka is set to hire Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams and Simona Halep. Some fans were against this decision.

"Signing Nick Kyrgios to her agency and working with Patrick Mouratoglou... As a big fan of Naomi Osaka, whoever is giving her career advice needs to stop giving her career advice," a fan wrote.

"Great but Patrick . Terrible decision," another wrote.

"I want Osaka to do well but Patrick to always lose so how's that gonna work for me?" one said.

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"I got really fired up" - Zheng Qinwen on her immediate reaction after Wim Fissette left her to return to Naomi Osaka

Zheng Qinwen (L) and Naomi Osaka at the Ecotrans Ladies Open Berlin 2024. (Image: Getty)

At the 2024 Italian Open, Zheng Qinwen faced Naomi Osaka in the fourth round. This was their first encounter after Wim Fissette had allegedly breached the contract with Zheng to return to Osaka.

The Chinese player won the match comfortably and was asked about her thoughts on the situation with the Belgian coach in an interview with Tennis Channel. Zheng said that initially, she was extremely frustrated with what had happened.

"If you ask me this, after we break, like, one month, two months, three months, four months, I will tell you I got really fired up, I wanted to kill my opponents, I want to, you know, put my frustration out," Zheng Qinwen said.

However, Zheng noted that those feelings had subsided a few months later. She treated Osaka as a "usual opponent" and even praised her Japanese counterpart for returning to Tour as a mother.