The Japanese tennis star beat Lucia Bronzetti in the first match under his guidance at the China Open and explained that she is keen to tap into his experience to help her win Grand Slams again.

Osaka said: "The fact that he was Serena's coach made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big.

"This isn't rude because I found out it's not true, but I didn't know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena.

"Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach."

Osaka has struggled for form since returning to the tour from maternity leave earlier this year and explained that she doesn't want to "have regrets" when she looks back at her career in the sport.

The former world number one said: "I think I'm at a stage in my life that I don't want to have regrets.

"I'd rather pull the trigger on something and I don't want to say 'fail', but I feel like I really need to learn as much as possible in this stage of my career.

"I try not to get into relationships with people for the short term. I try to think of it as a long-term commitment."

Osaka previously said that she does not "feel like I'm in my body" following her return to tennis after welcoming daughter Shai in July 2023 and admitted that it had been tough to cope with her lack of victories.

She wrote on Instagram last month: "My biggest issue currently isn't losses though, my biggest issue is that I don't feel like I'm in my body.

"It's a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn't miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to. I try to tell myself, 'It's fine you're doing great. Just get through this one and keep pushing.' Mentally it's really draining through."