Naomi Osaka Biography
Naomi Osaka is a professional Japanese tennis player. Following her Grand Slam victories at the 2018 U.S. Open and the 2019 Australian Open, Naomi Osaka rose to the top of the women’s tennis world rankings. She was the first Asian player, male or female, to achieve this position.
Naomi Osaka began playing tennis at the age of three. She grew up in the United States but is of Japanese descent and represents Japan on the court (her mother is from Japan, her father from Haiti).
Osaka has a 120-mile-per-hour serve, was the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam title, and is the first Asian tennis player to be ranked No. 1. She has won a total of four Grand Slams.
Wiki Profile
| Real Name: | Naomi Osaka |
| Date of Birth | October 16, 1997 |
| Place of Birth: | Osaka City, Osaka, Japan |
| Nationality: | Japanese |
| Marital Status: | Single |
| Occupation: | Tennis Player |
| Net Worth | $60 million |
Early Life and Education
On October 16, 1997, Osaka was born in Osaka City, Osaka, Japan. Leonard Maxime Francois and Tamaki Osaka met in the 1990s in Sapporo, Japan.
Tamaki’s family considered her relationship with a Haitian man to be a disgrace, but Tamaki and Francois eventually married.
Osaka was born in 1997, 18 months after her older sister, Mari, in the city of Osaka. To make life easier in Japan, the girls were given their mother’s surname.
Naomi’s father, Francois was inspired to follow a similar path with his daughters after seeing Venus and Serena Williams at the French Open in 1999 and learning how their father had trained them. Osaka’s family moved to the United States when she was three years old.
They moved to Long Island to live with her father’s parents, and she and her sister started playing tennis. The family relocated to Florida in 2006, where the girls practiced tennis with their father during the day.
They had gone to public school in New York, but now they were homeschooled at night. During this time, Osaka’s mother worked to support the family.
Career
Osaka, who stands at 5-foot-11, skipped junior tournaments and began her career on pro satellite tours, similar to Venus and Serena.
She turned pro in 2013 and was named the Women’s Tennis Association’s “Newcomer of the Year” in 2016.
Her first WTA tour victory came in March 2018 at Indian Wells, California. Osaka then won the US Open in September 2018, becoming the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam title.
She won the Australian Open in January 2019, becoming the first player since 2001 to win the major title that followed her first Grand Slam victory.
That victory also impelled Osaka to the top of the world rankings, a first for any Asian female or male player.
At the 2018 Miami Open, Osaka defeated Williams, who had only recently returned to competition after giving birth. They met again in the final round of the 2018 US Open, which Osaka won.
During the game, Williams was enraged by a penalty she received; in response, the umpire issued two more penalties, costing Williams a point and a game. Because of these actions, the audience booed during the trophy presentation.
Osaka was preparing to represent Japan at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo after losing to Gauff in the third round of the Australian Open in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the event.
“Of course, I’m disappointed that it won’t happen this year,” she said of the delay, “but we’ll all be ready to go stronger than ever in 2021.”
Osaka won the 2020 US Open by defeating Victoria Azarenka in the finals 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Williams and Osaka met again in the 2021 Australian Open semifinals, with Osaka winning 6-3, 6-4. She eventually won the Australian Open, her fourth grand slam title, by defeating Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3.
Naomi Osaka just withdrew from Wimbledon two days ago because of Achilles injury.
Awards
- Australian Open (2019, 2021)
- US Open (2018, 2020)
Personal Life
Naomi Osaka is currently dating American rapper Cordae Amari Dunston, who is simply known as Cordae. The duo have been dating quietly for the past three years.
The 24-year-old Cordae from North Carolina first gained popularity for his remixes of popular rap tracks by Eminem and J. Cole.
Osaka has emerged as a prominent tennis activist. She withdrew from the 2020 Cincinnati Open to raise awareness about Jacob Blake’s shooting.
For the 2020 U.S. Open, Osaka wore masks bearing the names of several African Americans killed by police, including Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, and George Floyd.
Social Media
- Instagram: @naomiosaka
- Twitter:Â @naomiosaka
