Naomi Osaka’s ex-coach Sascha Bajin has announced his split with American star Alycia Parks after a month together. Parks partnered with Bajin ahead of the Sunshine Doubles after five consecutive losses, but that didn’t work as they split after the Miami Open.
For context, Parks is famous for her fearsome service delivery, the speed of her serve saw her win a pair of WTA Challengers in 2022 making her debut in the Top 100. She won her maiden WTA title in Lyon beating Caroline Garcia.
She began 2023 pretty well reaching her first Australian Open Round of 32. After that, a series of five consecutive losses brought worries to her fans and she had to respond. Ahead of the Sunshine Doubles, she announced her partnership with Bajin, hoping for a turnaround, but that didn’t materialize. The 23-year-old lost to Kayla Day in the qualifier round of the Indian Wells Masters and the first qualifying match in Miami.
Rumors of a split between her and Bajin have been spreading, as she was without the German coach in Rome. Bajin finally confirmed their split on social media, claiming she was good off-court but they couldn’t agree when it comes to work.
Alycia Parks and Sascha Bajin (Images via Imago)
Just a little update since I have received quite a few a few messages in the past weeks. Alycia and I aren't working together anymore since a while. We split after Miami. She's super sweet girl off court but I think we just couldn't agree or had the same vision when it comes to work. I wish her nothing but the best and hope that she can find her success once again.Sascha Bajin wrote
Parks, who finished in No.47 in 2023 is now No.137 in the WTA rankings. Her most recent loss came against Italian Georgia Pedone at the WTA 250K tournament in Parma, Italy.
Sascha Bajin fails to hold another long-term partnership since splitting with Naomi Osaka
Sascha Bajin has failed to hold a long partnership with any player since he was spotted with Naomi Osaka. He has coached the likes of Karolina Pliskova and Dayana Yastremska for short spells. His biggest recognition came in 2018 after winning the WTA Coach of the Year helping Osaka win the US Open and Indian Wells Masters that year.
However, the German coach has been mired in controversy since Osaka published her autobiography in which she detailed the reason for her split with him. Osaka explained that Bajin allegedly dated a rival women’s player and even asked her to train with the player.
When the rumors about their relationship got to Osaka, she immediately confronted him and he admitted that it was true. She added that it destroyed the trust she had for him and decided not to continue with him.
