Grand Slams, #BlackLivesMatter, mental health, Japan, mother: Everything you always wanted to know about Naomi Osaka (but never had time to find out) – updated with Mouratgolou news
Naomi Osaka was the first Japanese player ever to win a Grand Slam title. She will miss the 2023 season as she just gave birth to her first child. Here are the answers to many questions you may ask yourself about her
Who is Naomi Osaka?
Naomi Osaka is a professional tennis player from Japan who competes on the WTA Tour. She has won four Grand Slam titles and been ranked world No 1. After 14 months away, during which she gave birth to her first child, she returned to the Tour in Brisbane at the start of 2024.
How did Naomi Osaka fare at the 2024 US Open?
Osaka entered the 2024 US Open women’s singles draw ranked 88th in the world. She knocked out seed No 10 Jelena Ostapenko, beating the Latvian 6-3, 6-2 in the first round.
Osaka’s campaign ended in the second round as she suffered a straight sets defeat at the hands of Czech Karolina Muchova. Notably, she missed three set points on serve in the second set to lose 6-3, 7-6 (5) on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Did NAOMI OSAKA play WIMBLEDON IN 2024?
Yes. Osaka was awarded a wildcard into the main draw of this year’s Wimbledon. After beating Diane Perry in the first round in three sets, the Japanese player was defeated by American Emma Navarro in the second round in straight sets.
Did Naomi Osaka play the 2024 Olympics?
Yes. Osaka, who lit the Olympic cauldron in Tokyo in 2021, did play in Paris in July 2024 but she lost in the first round to former world No 1 Angelique Kerber.
What did Noami Osaka do at the 2024 French Open?
Ranked No 134 in the world coming into the tournament, Osaka came within one point of knocking three-time champion and world No 1 Iga Swiatek out of Roland-Garros in the second round.
After dropping the first set in a tiebreak, Osaka put on a spellbinding display of tennis to win the second set 6-1, and lead 5-2 in the decider. She also earned a matchpoint before Swiatek fought back to win the final set 7-5. Many called it one of the best matches of 2024.
When did Naomi Osaka become a mother?
Naomi Osaka and boyfriend Cordae announced that they welcomed a baby girl, Shai, in July 2023.
Why did Naomi Osaka withdraw from Roland-Garros in 2021?
Prior to the start of the 2021 Roland-Garros event, Naomi Osaka announced that she would not take part in the mandatory press conferences after her matches due to concerns around mental health.
Her statement created a major stir in the days prior to the weekend. After winning her first round match in Paris, Osaka was fined $15,000 by the French Tennis Federation for skipping the press conference and was threatened with further fines and a possible expulsion from the event.
On the first Monday of the tournament, Osaka announced that she had never intended to create the controversy it had generated and decided to withdraw from the event after revealing that she had suffered from long bouts of depression. She announced soon after that she would not be playing at Wimbledon.
What happened to Naomi Osaka at the Tokyo Olympics?
Osaka had the honour of lighting the Olympic flame in Tokyo at the opening ceremony and then played in the singles event. She reached the third round but was then upset by Marketa Vondrousova, the Czech going on to win the silver medal.
What happened to Naomi Osaka at the 2021 US Open?
Trying to defend her title, Naomi Osaka looked good until the third round when she met the Canadian, Leylah Fernandez. Osaka led by a set and served for the match at 6-5 in the second set but could not close it out and went on to lose in three sets. Fernandez reached the final but Osaka suggested she may take a break from tennis. She attended the Met Gala in New York soon after.
How many Grand Slam titles has Naomi Osaka won?
Naomi Osaka has won four Grand Slam titles. The first one came at the US Open in 2018, when she stunned Serena Williams in the final. She then followed up by winning the Australian Open in 2019 and picked up a third by winning the US Open for a second time in 2020. The Japanese star most recently triumphed at the 2021 Australian Open, where she defeated Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the final. She has won seven WTA titles in all.
When was Naomi Osaka born and who are her family?
Naomi Osaka was born on October 16, 1997 in Osaka, Japan. She has been living in the United States since the age of three. Her parents are Tamari Osaka, who is from Japan, and Leonard François, who is from Haïti. They met in Japan in the 1990s. They moved to the United States, to New York in 2000 and then to Florida in 2006. Osaka has an older sister, Mari Osaka, born on April 3, 1996 in Osaka, Japan. She was world No 280, her best ranking, in May 2018. The two have never yet met on the professional circuit and Mari retired from the tour in early 2021.
In July 2023, Osaka announced that she and boyfriend Cordae became parents to a baby girl.
What is Naomi Osaka’s nationality?
Osaka is a Japanese player. She was also a US citizen until the age of 22, in October 2019. She gave it up in accordance with Japanese law, which states that a Japanese person with more than one nationality must choose one before turning 22. In 2019, Osaka became the first Japanese player in history to become world No 1.
What is her height?
Osaka is 5ft 11in (1.80m) tall, according to her profile on the official WTA website.
How many WTA singles titles has Naomi Osaka won?
Osaka has won seven WTA singles titles, four of which have been at the Grand Slams. Outside of the Majors, she also won Indian Wells (2018), Osaka (2019) and Beijing (2019).
What is Naomi Osaka’s highest ranking?
Osaka’s reached the world No 1 ranking for the first time on January 28, 2019. She has spent a total of 25 weeks at the top spot. You can find her updated ranking and ranking history on her WTA tour profile page.
How much prize money has Naomi Osaka won in her career?
Osaka has won over $22 million in official career prize money, as of October 7, 2024. You can find her current prize money stats on her WTA profile page.
Who is Naomi Osaka’s coach?
Osaka is currently being coached by Patrick Mouratoglou, the former coach of Serena Williams and Holger Rune. Osaka broke with her coach Wim Fissette, a former Belgian tennis player, in September 2024 after a partnership of four years spanning across two different periods.
She began her collaboration with Fissette in December 2019 and won two Major titles before they parted ways in July 2022. Fissette then coached Qinwen Zheng but the Chinese revealed in October 2023 that he would return to Osaka.
Before the Belgian, Osaka trained under Sascha Bajin and then by Jermaine Jenkins. Fissette has coached Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep in the past.
Who is Naomi Osaka’s boyfriend?
Osaka has been in a relationship since the beginning of 2019 with the American rapper YBN Cordae, born on August 26, 1997. They met at a Los Angeles Clippers basketball game.
What does Naomi Osaka think about the #BlackLivesMatter movement?
While the situation is very tense in the United States due to acts of violence perpetrated by the police against black Americans, Naomi Osaka has never made a secret of her commitment to the movement #BlackLivesMatter. On August 26, 2020, the 22-year-old went a step further by announcing her retirement from the Cincinnati tournament, just hours after qualifying for the semi-finals – a strong decision that forced the organisers to postpone all the matches that were scheduled for the following day.
What is Naomi Osaka’s net worth?
Osaka became the highest-earning woman in sporting history in 2020, earning $37.4 million, according to Forbes Magazine, in the year to May 2020, combining sponsorship money and prize money. She then smashed that figure in the year to May 2021, with Forbes reporting that she has earned $55 million, making her the highest-earning sportswoman in the world for a second consecutive year, and the highest-earning sportswoman ever. She maintained her place at No 1 in Forbes’ list in 2022, with $51.1 million, of which $50 million came in off-court earnings.
When did she start her career?
Osaka began her professional career in 2012 at the age of 14. The Japanese won her first match on the WTA main tour in Stanford in 2014. Then she was ranked 406th in the world and defeated Samantha Stosur, then ranked 18th, before falling in the second round against Andrea Petkovic. Osaka won her first WTA title in Indian Wells in 2018. Her idol growing up was Serena Williams.
Is Naomi Osaka on social media?
Yes, you can follow her on Instagram, where she has more than 2.8 million followers as of October 7, 2024, on X (formerly Twitter), where she has more than 1.1 million followers, and on Facebook, where she has more than 699,000 followers.
