Naomi Osaka is professional tennis player. Osaka was born to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother.
Early life
Naomi Osaka was born in October 1997 in Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan. Osaka’s family relocated from Japan to Valley Stream, New York on Long Island when she was three years old .
Watching the Williams sisters compete at the 1999 French Open inspired Osaka’s father to teach his daughters how to play tennis. Despite having no experience as a tennis player, he attempted to emulate how Richard Williams trained his daughters to become two of the best players in the world, despite never having played the sport himself.
Despite having been raised in the United States, Osaka’s parents decided that their daughters would represent Japan.
Career
At the age of 16, Osaka rose to prominence. At the age of 18, she advanced to the final round of the WTA Finals, where she was defeated by Caroline Wozniacki. Despite this, Osaka entered the top 50 of the WTA rankings for the first time.
In the same year, she made her Grand Slam debut in Melbourne. She was also named WTA’s ‘Newcomer of the Year.’
She won her first Grand Slam by defeating Serena Williams, her childhood idol. She was also the first Japanese woman to compete in and win a Grand Slam final.
Osaka’s Major winning streak continued at the Australian Open 2019, where she defeated Petra Kvitova in the finals. She also achieved the highest ranking of her career by becoming world number one.
Osaka’s career took a turn after she won the Australian Open. She parted ways with her coach, Sascha Bajin, and went months without a title.
Jermaine Jenkins was Osaka’s trainer, but she parted ways with him after six months. She is currently training with Wim Fissette.
Osaka finally ended her title less streak at the Pan Pacific Open 2019 in Osaka.
At the Australian Open 2021, Osaka added to her impressive Grand Slam finals record. She made it four Grand Slam finals in a row when she defeated Jennifer Brady to win her second Australian Open and fourth Grand Slam title.
Earnings
In 2020, she surpassed Serena Williams as the highest-paid female athlete, earning a total of US $37.4 million from June 2019 to May 2020.
Yonex has sponsored Osaka’s tennis rackets for the past ten years. She is also sponsored by Nike. She is an ambassador for the Japanese car manufacturer Nissan Motor and the Japanese watchmaker Citizen Watch.
She is also the brand ambassador for Mastercard. Her other endorsements include Bare Minerals, Body Armor, Hyperice, Melco Resorts, Morinaga, and Ariel Japan, Nissin Foods among others.
Her net worth is estimated to be approximately $25 million.
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