Natsuko Mogi: Contributing to the US Open Tennis Victory as a Trainer

In this match, the opponent, Serena Williams, was repeatedly penalized, losing points and games as a result.

The roof was closed for the final, and the sound echoed quite a bit, so to be honest, from our seats, we didn't know what was happening for a while. Because of that, while Ms. Williams was protesting, it felt like a very long time for those of us in the family box.

When the game resumed, it was 3-5 in the second set, and Williams easily held her serve. She is a player with 23 Grand Slam titles. There is always a possibility of a comeback from anywhere.

However, even in that situation, Osaka-選手 did not lose her composure, stayed focused until the end, and stuck to her play to win. Of course I was happy the moment she won, but at the same time, my honest feeling was one of relief, thinking, "Oh, thank goodness."

I joined "Team Osaka" in March last year, and we suddenly won the very first tournament after the team was formed. We got off to a great start, but the world isn't so easy that you can win again immediately. During the subsequent European season, we didn't achieve very good results, and we spent days far from any titles.

Especially during the hard court season before the US Open, even though it's her favorite surface, she couldn't play as she wanted, and there was some anxiety. However, as she progressed through the US Open, she improved both physically and mentally, and in the final, she won through a very unique situation to claim the championship. Looking at it objectively, she achieved a great feat in a short period, but because I had shared the tough times with her, the joy was that much greater.

I think the general public's image of a "trainer" is someone who teaches training at a gym or fitness club. Those people are called strength trainers or training coaches.

In contrast, ATs like us are more medically-oriented trainers who handle physical maintenance. Even within physical care, the ways of working vary; sometimes we are involved on-site as care trainers, and other times we do rehabilitation for injured athletes in hospitals under a doctor's instructions. If you want to work in sports in Japan, many people hold medical qualifications such as acupuncture/massage or Judo therapist in addition to their AT certification.

The requirements vary by sport, but for tennis, it is desirable to be able to provide massages so that players can compete day after day, and to be able to perform acupuncture to relieve pain and muscle stiffness. Since these cannot be done without national qualifications, I operate with qualifications as an acupuncturist, moxibustionist, and Anma massage shiatsu therapist.

During a tournament period, I handle warm-ups before practice, prepare hydration drinks during practice, manage cool-downs and stretching after practice or matches, and in the evening, I do physical maintenance like massages as well as nutritional management. This is the general scope of the work.

Coach Sascha Bajin, Abdul Sillah in charge of training, and I, handling physical care, supported Ms. Osaka as a team of three.

Abdul's and my roles sometimes overlapped. His title was Strength & Conditioning Coach, but since I also do conditioning, both of us could lead warm-ups and cool-downs. We discussed it and decided that he would handle warm-ups and I would handle cool-down stretches.

However, since the body's condition changes daily, if I noticed anything—for example, "Her shoulders were tight during yesterday's care, so I want you to increase the shoulder menu"—we shared information every time.

Yes. In the case of this team, both of them spoke very openly, which made it easy to work. I exchanged information closely with Sascha, and especially with Abdul, we managed Ms. Osaka's condition as a team while having detailed discussions. Occasionally our opinions differed, and there were times I thought I could explain better in Japanese, but even then, they patiently tried to understand, which was a great help.

One of the major roles of an AT is injury prevention. In addition to taping and stretching, team management is also part of that. Also, first aid when an injury occurs is essential.

Furthermore, there is the role of "Athletic Rehabilitation," which involves bringing an athlete back to a level where they can compete after they have gone to a hospital for treatment and recovered to a certain extent. I believe this is the most important part.

That's right. At places like the National Training Center or JISS (Japan Institute of Sports Sciences), you can receive rehabilitation, but both can only be used by JOC (Japanese Olympic Committee) elite athletes or athletes recommended by competitive organizations.

I truly agree. Other universities with faculties of sports science or physical education have active student trainer programs.

Also, recently there seems to be a nationwide movement to place ATs in high schools. Waseda has been placing ATs since 2005. I really hope Keio University will promote this as well. And I hope that ATs will become widely recognized.

Yes. We do massages, but above all, immediately after a match ends, we provide nutritional supplements, and then have them run for a cool-down or ride a bike before doing thorough stretching. At large tournaments, ice baths are set up, and we sometimes use those.

In tennis, if you keep winning, matches continue almost every day, so getting a massage after the match, eating, and going to bed early are the basics of fatigue recovery. Especially for top-seeded or popular players, night matches increase, and sometimes the match doesn't end until after 12:00 AM.

After that, media obligations finish, care is provided, and they finally get to sleep at 2:00 AM. It's a test of physical endurance for the trainer as well.

The four Grand Slams are in a class of their own. First of all, the scale of the venues is different. Ariake Coliseum (before renovation), which is considered the largest in Japan, had 10,000 seats, but the center court of the US Open can hold about 24,000 people. At Wimbledon, even if you can't get into the center court, you can enjoy watching on a large screen while having a picnic on a grassy hill called "Murray Hill." There are also many events where you can interact directly with the players.

Players also receive the highest quality service in every aspect. However, top-seeded players are given priority for practice courts and times, and the treatment is often different from lower-ranked players. It's a tough world where you're told to work hard if you want to receive those services.

Anyone who plays tennis admires the Grand Slams, but when I was a child watching Wimbledon on TV, I thought it must be very difficult to go there as a player. However, while I was wondering if I could somehow stand on that court, there was a scene where a woman with a bag ran up to a player on the court, and I thought, "Oh, I want to be that person" (laughs). Looking back, that person was a trainer.

I learned about the field of sports medicine after undergoing knee surgery for an injury in high school, but at that time, I never even considered going to the School of Medicine.

Later, meeting a trainer who helped me during my university days led me to decide to pursue that path, and I took the entrance exam for Hanada Gakuen, a medical vocational school that produces many trainers. Three years later, I passed the national exam for Anma massage shiatsu and acupuncture/moxibustion, and I also obtained my AT qualification at the same school.

Yes. In the past, I was involved in other sports as well, but I had a strong desire to be involved in the sport I used to play, and I've been lucky enough to continue doing so.

Yes. I think I did that for six or seven years. Managers from various clubs and student trainers who were studying on their own took the course. It was a good experience for me as well, and it has led to where I am today.

While I was a student at Hanada Gakuen, I started helping out a bit with the Tennis Association. That led me to work as a national team trainer after graduation, accompanying teams for the Fed Cup and Universiade, and serving as a tournament trainer for domestic tournaments.

However, it's difficult to make a living solely from trainer work, so I worked at Hanada Gakuen while going out into the field. I left Hanada Gakuen in 2011 and also stepped away from Association work for a period, but later, through a connection from supporting a player who was a top junior at the time for about four years, I started working at Tokyo Asuka Hospital in 2016. It's a hospital that focuses on sports orthopedics, and I was blessed with the opportunity to interact with a wide range of people, from the general public to athletes.

During that time, I continued to support tournaments through Association dispatch, and in 2017, the Tennis Association reached out to me again to see if I would help the national team.

Around that time, a system had been established where the Association would dispatch trainers to the four Grand Slams to support the Japanese players competing there.

And then I met Ms. Osaka at Wimbledon, and her coach at the time took a liking to me, saying, "A physio (physiotherapist) who can speak English has arrived!"

For example, the ATC (Certified Athletic Trainer) qualification in the US is a quasi-medical qualification, but since it is not recognized as a medical qualification in Japan, Japanese qualifications are necessary to provide physical care in Japan. There are people who get qualified in the US and then retake Japanese qualifications after returning, but it's true that there are few people who can speak English.

As for English, I went to the UK for three years during my Yochisha days due to my father's work, and what I learned then barely remained with me. Since tennis involves traveling all over the world, everyone around you feels like a foreigner, and not just English, but various languages are constantly flying around.

This tournament is basically run almost entirely by students, from preparation to operation. Since the Tennis Club has many returnee students, English is spoken normally.

That's right. Every tournament always has a neutral tournament trainer. Even if a player gets injured during a match, their personal trainer is never allowed on the court.

Therefore, the trainer who comes out onto the court in such cases is not a personal trainer, but a tournament trainer provided by the tournament organizers.

When I go to sports venues, I have also seen many Keio graduates other than athletes active on the side that supports sports.

There are almost no graduates among my fellow trainers, but there are often Keio University alumni among those working at the Association or among sponsors. There were also many graduates in the media. Meeting such people overseas makes me feel a bit relieved. I hope the number of trainers will increase as well.

AT is currently a qualification certified by the Japan Sport Association, and it's hard to get. You can only take the exam after attending an AT vocational school, a university with an AT course, or a medical vocational school, or by being recommended by a competitive organization and attending a training camp-style course.

When I took the exam, only about 1 to 3 people out of 1,000 would pass both the written and practical exams on the first try. The number of successful candidates has gradually increased now, but I hope it becomes a national qualification.