Naomi Osaka was also listed on Time magazine's annual list of the 100 most important people in the world for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
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On October 16, 1997, Naomi Osaka, a Japanese tennis player, was born. According to the Women’s Tennis Association, she is the first Asian player to hold the No. 1 singles ranking in the entire globe (WTA). Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam singles champion after winning two titles at the Australian Open and two at the US Open. Her two Premier Mandatory victories were among her seven WTA Tour triumphs. At the immediately following 2018 US Open and 2019 Australian Open, Osaka won her first two major titles. She was the first woman to win back-to-back major singles titles since Serena Williams in 2015; Jennifer Capriati did so in 2001. Osaka is one of the most marketable athletes in the world; in terms of endorsement money, she was placed seventh among all athletes in 2020. In terms of yearly earnings, she was also the highest-paid female athlete in history at the time. Osaka has become well-known for her activism after publicly supporting the Black Lives Matter movement throughout her matches. For her advocacy, which was substantially a part of her quest for the US Open championship, she was named one of the 2020 Sports Illustrated Sportspersons of the Year. She was also listed on Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most important people in the world for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
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Osaka is a base player that plays aggressively. Her serve and forehand, in particular, have excellent raw power. At the age of sixteen, Naomi Osaka could strike forehands travelling at speeds of up to 160 kph (100 mph), and her serve has reached 200 kph (124 mph), placing her among the top ten fastest servers in WTA history. Osaka’s ability to win lengthy rallies is crucial to her success even though she can use her power to strike a lot of winners. Osaka reaching her first WTA final of her career at the 2016 Pan Pacific Open was one of the first significant instances where that tactic was successful. Osaka attributed her breakout season in 2018 to enhancing her mental game and reducing unforced errors. At the Wuhan Open at the year’s end, she observed “My mental state has probably improved the most. My game is more reliable; there are less unintentional mistakes. I don’t know how many I hit today, but last year I did hit a lot of times!” She credited her coach Sascha Bajin for some of these developments, saying, “I tend to be a little pessimistic, but after working with [Bajin], I feel like I’ve gained a little bit of optimism. He has served as something of a mediator because I argue a lot with myself.” Bajin concurred with Osaka regarding the importance of adopting a patient, upbeat attitude throughout each game.
Osaka made the semifinals of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 tournament before withdrawing due to an abdominal issue. She was seeded first. In order to defend her title, she entered the Australian Open with a 13th-place seeding. She was, however, defeated in three sets in the third round by Amanda Anisimova. Osaka talked about her happiness despite the defeat and the actions she is taking to enhance her mental well-being and have “more pleasure on the court.” She was defeated by Anisimova on May 23 in the opening round of the French Open. Playing in San Jose for the first time since the French Open, Osaka defeated Zheng Qinwen in the first round in three sets before falling to Coco Gauff in the second round in straight sets. Osaka withdrew due to a back ailment from her opening match at the Canadian Open against Kaia Kanepi. Osaka had a promising opening at the US Open before falling to local favourite Danielle Collins in two sets after losing the first set in a tiebreak. Her problems persisted in the 2022 Toray Pan Pacific Open, where she withdrew as the defending champion in the second round due to abdominal pain after losing only one game to Daria Gavrilova, who withdrew due to a knee injury.
Her father is from Jacmel, Haiti, while her mother is from Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan. She has an elder sister named Mari who used to play tennis professionally. When the family lived in Japan, the two girls were given their mother’s family name for practicality. When Osaka’s father was visiting Hokkaido while he was a college student in New York, he met Osaka’s mother. Osaka’s family relocated from Japan to Elmont, New York on Long Island when she was three years old to live with her father’s parents. Watching the Williams sisters participate at the 1999 French Open provided her father with the motivation to start teaching his girls how to play tennis. Despite having little tennis experience himself, he tried to follow Richard Williams’ methods for developing his daughters into two of the top players in the world. As François pointed out “There was already a template. I simply had to adhere to it “considering the elaborate plan Richard had created for his daughters. As soon as Naomi and Mari arrived in America, he started instructing them.
Since 2019, Osaka has been dating rapper Cordae, formerly known as YBN Cordae. He has, in Osaka’s opinion, been a crucial component of her path. Despite the fact that the two are quite private, they have shared a few adorable moments with the world, such as the time Cordae travelled to visit Osaka at the 2020 U.S. Open after she reported feeling lonely. At the 2021 Met Gala, when Osaka served as a co-chair, the two also made a rare red carpet appearance together (and wore a Louis Vuitton gown inspired by her Haitian and Japanese ancestry). This pair will soon be able to add parents to their list of accomplishments. According to People, Osaka announced that she and Cordae are expecting their first child.
