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World No.1 Naomi Osaka hires Jermaine Jenkins as new coach
Osaka is next scheduled to play in the Indian Wells Masters, where she is the defending champion.
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.
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.