World No.1 Naomi Osaka hires Jermaine Jenkins as new coach

Image credit:Twitter/@AustralianOpen

World number one Naomi Osaka has hired Jermaine Jenkins, former hitting partner to Venus Williams, as her new head coach.

The 21-year-old Japanese player took to Twitter to confirm the news.

"Had a great dinner with the team. Also taking this moment to thank Jermaine for joining us and coming on board lol," Osaka wrote.

Had a great dinner with the team  also taking this moment to thank Jermaine for joining us and coming on board lol  pic.twitter.com/OBpl5R7L2j — NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@Naomi_Osaka_) February 28, 2019

Jermaine, who is a former All American collegiate star at Clemson University, served with Venus from 2015 until the end of the last season.His brother Jarmere is currently Serena Williams` hitting partner.

In January, Jermaine was named as a national coach for women`s tennis by the USTA Player Development.

The reigning Australian Open champion`s announcement comes two weeks after her decision to part ways with coach Sascha Bajin.

"After this tournament I would want to start looking at people. It is not really ideal to go to Indian Wells without a coach," Women`s Tennis Association (WTA) quoted Osaka as saying last week during the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Jermaine will join a team including fitness trainer Abdul Sallah, physiotherapist Kristy Stahr, and Osaka`s father Leonard Francois.

Osaka is next scheduled to play in the Indian Wells Masters, where she is the defending champion.