Naomi Osaka (Japanese:大坂 なおみ,Hepburn:Ōsaka Naomi,Japanese pronunciation:[oːsakanaomi], born October 16, 1997) is a Japanese professionaltennis player. She has been ranked as theworld No. 1 in women's singles by theWomen's Tennis Association (WTA) for 25 weeks, the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka has won sevenWTA Tour-level singles titles, including fourmajors: two each at theAustralian Open and theUS Open. She is the first Japanese player to win a major singles title.
Born in Japan to a Haitian–American father and a Japanese mother, Osaka has lived and trained in the United States since age three. She came to prominence at age 16 when she defeated former US Open championSamantha Stosur in her WTA Tour debut at the2014 Stanford Classic. Two years later, she reached her first WTA final at the2016 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and entered the top 50 of the WTA rankings. Osaka broke into the upper echelon of women's tennis in 2018, winning her first Tour title at theIndian Wells Open, then defeatingSerena Williams inthe final of the US Open. After winning theAustralian Open in early 2019, she reached the world No. 1 ranking for the first time. Following two more major titles, in 2021, Osaka suffered from depression and other issues, which led to a publicly-scrutinized retirement from the French Open and withdrawal from Wimbledon. She took maternity leave in 2023, returning to competition in 2024.
Naomi Osaka was born on October 16, 1997, inChūō-ku, Osaka, Japan to Leonard François, who is fromJacmel, Haiti, and Tamaki Osaka (大坂 環,Ōsaka Tamaki), who is fromNemuro, Hokkaido, Japan.[2] She has an older sister,Mari, who is a former professional tennis player. The sisters were given their mother's family name as that was the practice when just one spouse held native citizenship. Osaka's parents met when her father was visiting Hokkaido while he was a college student in New York.[3][4]
When Osaka was four years old, her family moved from Japan to the U.S. to live with her father's parents inElmont, New York onLong Island.[5] Her father was inspired to teach his daughters how to play tennis by watching theWilliams sisters compete at the1999 French Open. Having little experience as a tennis player himself, he sought to emulate howRichard Williams trained his daughters to become two of the best players in the world, despite having never played the sport. François remarked that "the blueprint was already there. I just had to follow it," with regard to the detailed plan Richard had developed for his daughters.
François began coaching Naomi and Mari once they settled in the United States.[3] In 2006, her family moved to Florida when she was eight or nine years old so that they would have better opportunities to train. She practiced on thePembroke Pines public courts during the day and washomeschooled at night.[3] When Naomi was 15years old, she began working with Patrick Tauma at the ISP Academy.[6] In 2014, she moved to theHarold Solomon Tennis Academy.[7] She later trained at the ProWorld Tennis Academy.[8]
Although Osaka was raised in the United States, her parents decided that their daughters would represent Japan. They said,
"We made the decision that Naomi would represent Japan at an early age. She was born in Osaka and was brought up in a household of Japanese and Haitian culture. Quite simply, Naomi and her sister Mari have always felt Japanese so that was our only rationale. It was never a financially motivated decision nor were we ever swayed either way by any national federation."[8]
This decision may have also been motivated by a lack of interest from theUnited States Tennis Association (USTA) when she was still a young player.[3] The USTA later offered her the opportunity to train at their national training center inBoca Raton, Florida when she was 15 years old, but she declined.[8]
Osaka interviewed at the 2014 Stanford Classic alongsideSerena Williams
Osaka never competed on theITF Junior Circuit, the premier international junior tour, and only played in a small number of junior tournaments at any age level.[9] She instead skipped to theITF Women's Circuit and played her first qualifying match in October 2011 on her 14th birthday.[10] She then made her professional main-draw debut in doubles at her next tournament in March with her sister Mari. Meanwhile, she did not qualify for her first singles main draw until July in her seventh such attempt. Her best result of the 2012 season came at a $10k event inAmelia Island, where she lost to her sister in the semifinals.[11] Osaka has never won a title at the ITF level, only managing to finish runner-up on four occasions.[11] Her first two finals came at the $25K level, one of which was in June 2013 inEl Paso, Texas. The other was in March 2014 in Irapuato, Mexico and included a victory over her sister.[11]
In September 2013, Osaka turned professional shortly before turning 16 years old.[12] She entered her first two qualifying draws on the WTA Tour that same month at theChallenge Bell in Quebec and thePan Pacific Open in Tokyo. The latter event was her first opportunity to compete professionally in Japan.[11] The following summer, Osaka qualified for her first WTA Tour main draw at the2014 Stanford Classic. In her tour level debut, she upset worldNo. 19,Samantha Stosur, in a tight match where she saved a match point in the second set tiebreak and came back from a 5–3 deficit in the third set. She was still just 16 years old and ranked No. 406 at the time.[13][14] Osaka also won a match as awildcard at theJapan Women's Open, her only other WTA Tour main draw of the year.[15] These victories helped her progress into the top 250 of the rankings before the end of the season.[16]
Despite not winning another WTA Tour main-draw singles match in 2015, Osaka continued to climb up the rankings.[9][16] She reached her two highest level finals, the first at the $75kKangaroo Cup in Japan and the second at the $50kSurbiton Trophy in England.[11] Following these runner-up results, Osaka was ranked high enough to enter qualifying at the last two Grand Slam singles events of the year,Wimbledon and theUS Open. She won her first match at the US Open, but was unable to qualify for either main draw.[11] Nonetheless, Osaka had a strong finish to the year. In October during theWTA Finals, she won the Rising Stars Invitational four-player exhibition tournament, defeating heavy favorite and world No. 35,Caroline Garcia, in the final.[17] Continuing to play in November, Osaka then reached the biggest final of her career at theWTA 125Hua Hin Championships in Thailand. After a semifinal at a$75k event in Japan, she finished the year ranked No. 144.[16]
Osaka began the season playing three tournaments in Australia. Her results during this stretch were good enough to bring her near the top 100,[16] which allowed her to play in WTA Tour-level events all year.[9] Most notably, she qualified for her first Grand Slam main draw at theAustralian Open and made it to the third round. In particular, she upset No. 21,Elina Svitolina, in straight sets in the second round before losing to No. 16,Victoria Azarenka.[18] Back in the United States, Osaka received a wildcard into theMiami Open, her first Premier Mandatory main draw. During the event, she won two matches including a victory over No. 18,Sara Errani.[19] With this success, she progressed into the top 100 of the WTA rankings for the first time.[16]
In the clay-court events leading up to theFrench Open, Osaka needed to qualify for every event she entered. She only managed to do so at a single event, theCharleston Open, where she lost her only match in the main draw.[11] Nonetheless, Osaka was ranked high enough to be directly accepted into the main draw of the French Open. In her debut at the tournament, she recorded her only two clay-court match wins of the season. She also won the first set against No. 6Simona Halep, but ultimately lost the match.[20][21] She then did not play the grass-court season after suffering an injury shortly after the French Open.[22][11]
Osaka returned to tennis in the middle of July.[11] At theUS Open in August, she reached the third round at a major event for the third time that year. She upset No. 30CoCo Vandeweghe in the first round before losing to No. 9Madison Keys, in three sets.[23] During her match against Keys, she had a 5–1 lead in the third set before ultimately losing in a tiebreak.[24] After the tournament, Osaka began the Asian hardcourt season with two tournaments in Tokyo, first losing in the second round at theJapan Women's Open.[25] Having already reached her first two career WTA quarterfinals earlier in the year, she then made her breakthrough as a wildcard at the Premier-levelPan Pacific Open. She upset No. 12Dominika Cibulková and No. 20 Svitolina on the road to making her first WTA final at the age of 18. At the time, Cibulkova was the highest-ranked player she ever defeated. Additionally, she was the first Japanese player to contest the final at the event sinceKimiko Date in1995.[26][27] Osaka ultimately finished runner-up toCaroline Wozniacki.[28] Nonetheless, she entered the top 50 of the WTA rankings for the first time.[16] At the end of the season, she was named theWTA Newcomer of the Year.[29]
After her huge improvement the previous year, Osaka was unable to set a new career-high ranking in 2017. Nonetheless, she maintained a steady ranking throughout the season, rising no higher than No. 44 while falling no lower than No. 68, her year-end ranking.[16] She did not win more than two main draw matches at any event all year.[11]
Osaka's best tournament result of the season came at theCanadian Open, where she reached the round of sixteen as a qualifier. During the event, she upset No. 16Anastasija Sevastova before needing to retire against world No. 1,Karolína Plíšková, due to an abdominal injury. She had won the second set against Plíšková.[30] Her next best results of the year came at the last two major events of the season, where she made it to the third round at each ofWimbledon and theUS Open. She had a strong debut at Wimbledon, upsetting No. 23Barbora Strýcová, before losing to No. 11Venus Williams.[31][32] Her US Open was then highlighted by her first-round win against defending champion and No. 6,Angelique Kerber, the first top-ten victory of Osaka's career.[33][34] However, her run was ended by veteran qualifierKaia Kanepi.[35] This was the second consecutive year she lost in the third round of the US Open, after having at least a one-break lead in the third set.[36]
Osaka in particular struggled to play on clay courts. After winning her first two matches at theCharleston Open,[37] she did not win another main-draw match on clay the remainder of the season. Osaka did well in her first full grass-court season on the WTA Tour, going 4–4 behind her performance at Wimbledon.[11] Her biggest wins of the year all came on hardcourt. In addition to her results at the Canadian Open and the US Open, she also recorded a second top-ten victory over No. 5, Venus Williams, at theHong Kong Open, her last tournament of the year.[38]
Following her lack of improvement in 2017, Osaka hired Sascha Bajin to be her coach in the off-season.[39][40] In their second tournament together, Osaka produced her career best result at a major event. At theAustralian Open, she reached the fourth round after defeating two top-20 players inElena Vesnina and hometown favoriteAshleigh Barty, ultimately losing to world No. 1, Simona Halep.[41][42][43] This result helped her return to the top 50 within the next month.[16]
At theIndian Wells Open, Osaka had the next big breakthrough of her career. Having never won a professional title or made it past the third round at a Premier Mandatory event, she won the tournament convincingly, only dropping one set in the middle round of the tournament. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, she defeated two top-five opponents in Karolína Plíšková and Halep, the latter of which was her first victory over a current No. 1 player.[44][45] She then closed out the tournament with a win in the final over fellow up-and-coming playerDaria Kasatkina, making her the youngest champion at the event in ten years.[46] With her first title, she surged past her previous career-high ranking to No. 22 in the world.[16] Osaka played the following week as well at theMiami Open and extended her win streak by one additional match in her first meeting against her childhood idol,Serena Williams, who was competing in just her second tournament back from maternity leave.[47]
After her success in the early months of the season, Osaka had a rather quiet middle of the year. She reached the third round at both theFrench Open andWimbledon, matching her best performance at each tournament.[48][49] The closest she came to winning another tournament was on grass at theNottingham Open, where she lost to top seed Barty in the semifinals.[50]
Osaka did not have another breakthrough result until theUS Open, where she won her second title of the year. Like at Indian Wells, she only dropped one set in the middle round of the event, this time to No. 20Aryna Sabalenka. In the three early rounds, she only lost a total of seven games and notably recorded adouble bagel victory againstAliaksandra Sasnovich.[51] Osaka was drawn against Madison Keys in the semifinals, and was able to avenge her tough loss from the 2016 US Open to advance to the final.[52] In thefinal, she defeated Serena Williams for the second time in 2018 to win her first major title. The match was marred and overshadowed by an on-court dispute between Williams and the umpire highlighted by Williams receiving a game penalty. Boos from the crowd continued during the match and the award ceremony.[53] Osaka later said that the win was "a little bit bittersweet" and "it wasn't necessarily the happiest memory."[54] Nonetheless, she became the first Japanese woman to contest a major singles final and the first Japanese Grand Slam singles champion.[55][56]
Now ranked in the top ten, Osaka extended her win streak to ten matches by reaching the final at thePan Pacific Open in Tokyo for the second time in her career. Plíšková was able to end her win streak in the final.[57] Osaka then reached the semifinals at the Premier MandatoryChina Open.[58] With her third consecutive deep run, she rose to a career-best ranking of world No. 4, matching the record ofKimiko Date andKei Nishikori for the highest ranking held by a Japanese player in history.[59] Osaka closed out the year by participating at theWTA Finals, where she was grouped withSloane Stephens, Angelique Kerber, andKiki Bertens. She lost all three of her round-robin matches, notably retiring against Bertens due to ahamstring injury to end her season.[60] Osaka finished the year as the WTA Tour leader in prize money, having earned almost $6.4 million.[61]
Osaka entered theAustralian Open as the fourth seed and also one of eleven players in contention for the world No. 1 ranking.[62] She made it to the final againstPetra Kvitová, having beatenHsieh Su-wei in the third round despite being one set, 2–4 and 0–40 down at one point.[63] Anastasija Sevastova also won the first set against her in the fourth round, while No. 8 Karolína Plíšková pushed her to three sets in the semifinals.[64][65] After Osaka won the first set in the final, Kvitová saved three championship points before breaking Osaka in back-to-back service games to win the second set. Nonetheless, Osaka recovered to win the championship. She was the first woman to win consecutive major singles titles since Serena Williams in 2015, and was the first player to follow up her first Grand Slam singles title with another at the next such event sinceJennifer Capriati in 2001.[66] She also became the first Asian player to be ranked No. 1 in the world in singles.[67][68] Despite this title, she parted ways with her coachSascha Bajin following the tournament.[69]
Osaka struggled after the Australian Open. She lost in the fourth and third rounds at the two Premier Mandatory tournaments in March, theIndian Wells Open and theMiami Open.[70][71] After beginning the clay-court season with a semifinal at theStuttgart Grand Prix where she withdrew due to an abdominal injury,[72] her best results were two quarterfinals at theMadrid Open and theItalian Open.[73] She also withdrew from the latter due to a right hand injury.[74] Osaka matched her best result at theFrench Open, losing toKateřina Siniaková in the third round.[75] During the grass-court season, Osaka lost in the early rounds toYulia Putintseva at both tournaments she entered, including the first round atWimbledon.[76] As a result, she lost the No. 1 ranking to Ashleigh Barty.[16]
Before the US Open, Osaka made the quarterfinals at the two Premier 5 tournaments in August, theCanadian Open and theCincinnati Open, where she was defeated by Serena Williams andSofia Kenin respectively.[77][78] These performances helped her regain the No. 1 ranking so that she had the top seed at theUS Open. Nonetheless, her title defense came to an end in the fourth round againstBelinda Bencic, who defeated her for the third time during the year.[79] She then fell to No. 4 in the world.[16] Following the tournament, Osaka went back to having her father as her coach.[80] This change had an immediate impact, as Osaka won her next two tournaments. First, she won thePan Pacific Open in her hometown of Osaka, defeatingAnastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the final.[81] Two weeks later, she won the Premier MandatoryChina Open. During the tournament, she defeated reigning US Open championBianca Andreescu in the quarterfinals and world No. 1 and reigning French Open champion Ashleigh Barty in the final, both in three sets after losing the first.[82] This was Andreescu's first loss since March.[83] These results brought her to No. 3 in the world.[16] At the end of the season, Osaka qualified for theWTA Finals for the second consecutive year. However, after defeating Petra Kvitová in her first match, she withdrew due to injury.[84]
Osaka only played four tournaments in 2020, largely due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. Before the tour shutdown, she lost to No. 2 Karolína Plíšková in a semifinal at theBrisbane International andCoco Gauff in the third round of theAustralian Open, squandering a chance to serve for the match in the former.[85][86] When the tour resumed, Osaka played theCincinnati Open and theUS Open, which were held in back-to-back weeks in New York. Osaka did not lose a match at either event. At the Cincinnati Open, she defeated four players ranked in the 20s before defaulting in the final against Victoria Azarenka due to a hamstring injury.[87][88] Both Osaka and Azarenka reached the final again at the US Open, where Osaka became the first player to win a US Open women's singles final by coming from a set down since1994. This was her second US Open title in three years.[89][90] Following the US Open, Osaka skipped theFrench Open and ended her season because of her lingering hamstring injury.[91]
During both of these tournaments in New York, Osaka drew attention for her activism. She had initially withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open before the semifinal to raise awareness for thepolice shooting of Jacob Blake, only staying in the tournament after they chose to support her cause by postponing the event for a day.[92] At the US Open, Osaka walked onto the court for her seven matches wearing a different black mask, each of which with the name of an African American who had been killed in recent years often without significant repercussions.[93]
Osaka was seeded third at the2021 Australian Open. She recorded straight-sets wins over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova,Caroline Garcia, andOns Jabeur, before defeatingGarbiñe Muguruza in three sets in the fourth round despite facing match points during the third set (the only match in which she lost a set during the tournament). She went on to defeat Hsieh Su-wei in the quarterfinals, Serena Williams in the semifinals, and 22nd seedJennifer Brady[94] in the final to claim her second Australian Open title.[95]She became one of only three players in the Open Era to win her first four Grand Slam finals, alongsideRoger Federer andMonica Seles.[96][97]
Osaka returned to theMiami Open as the second seed, making the quarterfinals for the first time. She lost the quarterfinal in a shock defeat toMaria Sakkari, winning just four games.[98] As a result, Osaka missed out on regaining the No. 1 ranking.
Osaka was seeded second at theFrench Open. Shortly before the start of the tournament, she announced that she would not conduct her mandatory media assignments.[99] After Osaka won her first match in straight sets and did not hold a press conference, she was fined $15,000 and threatened with rising levels of fines and expulsion.[100] The following day, she announced her withdrawal from the tournament, citing mental health issues.[101] Many fellow athletes and sponsors have voiced support for Osaka, with some noting a rarely discussed issue of mental health, although the overall reaction from the wider tennis community was mixed.[102] On June 17, Osaka's agent announced that she would not participate in the upcomingWimbledon Championships but would take part in theTokyo Olympics.[103][104]
Osaka would later return to action at theCincinnati Open where she was defending finalist. She beat Coco Gauff in the second round but was upset byJil Teichmann in the third round, both in three sets.
At theUS Open, Osaka failed to defend her title, losing her composure and the match to the eventual tournament runner-up, CanadianLeylah Fernandez in the third round, despite serving for the match in the second set. During the match, Osaka threw her racket and received a code violation for hitting a ball into the stands.[105] In her post-match press conference, Osaka announced another hiatus from the sport "for a while", revealing that winning did not make her happy anymore.[106]
Osaka returned to competition at theMelbourne Summer Set 1 tournament seeded No. 1 and made the semifinals, before withdrawing due to an abdominal injury.[107] Her next tournament was theAustralian Open, where she was seeded 13th and attempting to defend her title. However, she was eliminated in the third round by Amanda Anisimova, in three sets.[108] Osaka described being happy despite the loss and discussed steps she is taking to improve her mental health and have "more fun on the court".[109][110]
She dropped 71 spots in the WTA rankings to No. 85 following the tournament, with the tournament absences in 2021 contributing to the drop.[111]
In March, Osaka entered theIndian Wells Open where she beat Sloane Stephens in the first round, but lost toVeronika Kudermetova in straight sets in the second. Osaka was upset by a heckler in the crowd during the second round and was in tears during the match. Interviewed after the match, she compared her treatment to heckling at the tournament in 2001 that led theWilliams sisters to boycott it for 13 years.[112]
The following week, Osaka entered theMiami Open. She reached her first final since the 2021 Australian Open after defeating 22nd seed Belinda Bencic in the semifinals. Ranked 77 at the time, she became the lowest ranked finalist in the tournament's history. However, she lost the final to second seedIga Świątek, in straight sets.[113]
Playing for the first time since the French Open, Osaka won her first-round match atSan Jose againstZheng Qinwen in three sets, but lost in the next round to Coco Gauff, in straight sets.[116][117] At theCanadian Open, Osaka retired from her first match againstKaia Kanepi due to back injury.[118] Against home favoriteDanielle Collins, Osaka started positive into theUS Open but lost the first set in a tiebreak, and her first-round match in two sets. Her troubles continued at thePan Pacific Open where, as the defending champion, she withdrew in the second round citing abdominal pain. She had played only one game in her first round match againstDaria Gavrilova who retired due to a knee injury.[119]
Days before the Australian Open, Osaka announced her withdrawal from the championships, as she was expecting her first child with rapperCordae.[120] In her withdrawal message, she confirmed with fans that she would be back for the Australian Open in 2024.[121][122] She later announced her return at the2024 Brisbane International.[123]
2024: Two quarterfinals, French Open Świątek match
Osaka made her return to professional tennis as a wildcard at Brisbane.[124] Playing her first professional match sinceSeptember 2022, she defeatedTamara Korpatsch in the first round in straight sets, which included a 20-point first set tiebreak, before losing to defending champion Karolína Plíšková in the second round in a very tight three-set match.[125][126][127] In theAustralian Open, Osaka faced Caroline Garcia in the first round, where she lost in straight sets.[128] In theQatar Ladies Open, Osaka reached quarterfinals where she again lost to Karolína Plíšková.[129] Osaka returned toIndian Wells, securing straight set victories overSara Errani andLiudmila Samsonova. She fell to the 24th seedElise Mertens in the 3rd round. InMiami, Osaka took out Italian playerElisabetta Cocciaretto and Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in straight sets before falling to Frenchwoman Carolina Garcia in their third face-off of the year.
Osaka started her clay court season inRouen, losing to clay court specialist and former French Open semifinalist,Martina Trevisan in straight sets.[130] She returned toMadrid with a comprehensive victory overGreet Minnen.[131] In a tough three-setter, Osaka lost to Samsonova in the second round.[132] She reached the fourth round inRome, defeating notably seededDaria Kasatkina andMarta Kostyuk in straight sets,[133] before falling to Zheng Qinwen.[134]
At the2024 French Open, Osaka lost an unexpectedly close second-round match to the three-time winner and world No. 1 Iga Świątek where she had set point the first set and one match point.[135]
Osaka then returned to grass courts for the first time since 2019 in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. She made a winning return and beat fourth-seededElise Mertens in the first round,[136] eventually making it to the quarterfinals where she was defeated by Bianca Andreescu.[137] At the2024 Wimbledon Championships, Osaka got through to the second round before losing toEmma Navarro.[138][139]
At theCanadian Open, Osaka defeatedOns Jabeur in the first round,[140] but was eliminated in the second round after losing to Elise Mertens.[141]
Osaka played her next tournament at theChina Open, making it through to the fourth round where she retired due to a back injury at the start of the third set againstCoco Gauff.[144] On 21 October, she announced she was ending her season early because of her back injury.[145]
Osaka started her 2025 season at theAuckland Open, where she reached the final but retired due to an abdominal injury after winning the first set against 5th-seededClara Tauson.[146]
Osaka made herFed Cup debut forJapan in 2017, while the team was competing in theAsia/Oceania Zone Group I. Japan won all nine of their rubbers to advance out of their round-robin pool. Although Osaka won her singles match in theplay-off againstKazakhstan, the team lost their other two matches and was not able to advance.[147] The following year with Osaka absent, Japan was able to defeat Kazakhstan in thesame group to advance to the2018 World Group II Play-offs.[148] In this stage, they hostedGreat Britain in a usual five rubber tie. At this point, Osaka returned to the team and won her opening match againstHeather Watson.[149] After she lost her next rubber toJohanna Konta,Kurumi Nara was also able to defeat Watson to set up a decisive doubles match. Japan won that final rubber to earn promotion to World Group II in 2019.[150]
Osaka made herHopman Cup debut in 2018 withYūichi Sugita. Japan was making their first appearance at the exhibition tournament since 2001.[151] They were grouped with Switzerland, the United States, and Russia, and lost all three of their ties. Osaka's only match win came in singles against Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She also had a big highlight in the mixed doubles match against Switzerland when she served anace pastRoger Federer.[152]
Osaka lit the Olympic cauldron during theopening ceremony.[153] Coming into Tokyo Olympics, Osaka was ranked 2nd in the world. She lost in the 3rd round of the games to eventual finalist and silver medalistMarkéta Vondroušová after two straight set victories.[154]
Osaka is an aggressivebaseline player.[155] She has excellent raw power, especially on herforehand and herserve. Osaka could hit 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph) forehands at the age of sixteen, and her serve has been clocked at up to 200 kilometers per hour (124 mph), making her one of the ten fastest servers on record in WTA history.[156][157] While she can use her power to hit high numbers of winners, Osaka's key to success is to be able to win longrallies.[156] One of the first notable instances in which that strategy proved successful was when Osaka made her first career WTA final at the2016 Pan Pacific Open.[158]
Osaka credited improving her mental approach and cutting down on unforced errors for her breakthrough season in 2018. At the Wuhan Open towards the end of the year, she noted, "I think my biggest improvement is mental. My game is more consistent, there are not so many unforced errors. I'm not sure how many I hit today, but sometimes last year I was hitting a lot!"[159] She attributed some of these changes to her coach Sascha Bajin, saying, "Since I was working with [Bajin] — and I tend to be a bit negative on myself — I feel like I've gotten a little bit more optimistic ... I fight myself a lot, so he's sort of been, like, the peacemaker." Bajin also agreed with Osaka on the impact of having a patient, positive approach in each match.[160]
Osaka was coached by her father Leonard François from the age of three.[3] Patrick Tauma was one of her first coaches after she began playing on the ITF Women's Circuit. He was her coach in 2013 when she reached her first ITF final.[6][161] In 2014, she spent seven months training at an academy run byHarold Solomon, a former top five player and French Open finalist who has coached many top women's tennis players includingJennifer Capriati andMary Joe Fernández.[162][7] Under Solomon, Osaka defeatedSam Stosur for her first WTA match win.[7] Following her loss at the 2016 US Open where she could not convert a 5–1 lead in the third set, theJapan Tennis Association helped arrange for David Taylor to be her new coach.[156]
After the 2017 season, Osaka switched coaches toSascha Bajin, who had previously served as a hitting partner to top players such as Serena Williams,Victoria Azarenka, andCaroline Wozniacki.[163][160] With Bajin as her coach, Osaka won her first Premier Mandatory title and two Grand Slam singles titles.[46][56] She also rose to No. 1 in the world after having never previously been ranked above No. 40.[16] Bajin was named the inauguralWTA Coach of the Year in 2018.[164] Shortly after her 2019 Australian Open title, Osaka surprisingly split with Bajin, saying, she "wouldn't put success over [her] happiness."[69][165] She hiredJermaine Jenkins to be her new coach from March until October. Jenkins had previously worked as a hitting partner forVenus Williams.[166] Osaka temporarily replaced him with her father in September. She won her first two tournaments with him back as her coach.[167][80] She subsequently hiredWim Fissette at the start of the 2020 season[168] but announced on September 13, 2024, the end of their coaching relationship.[169]
Osaka is one of the most marketable athletes in the world. She earned an estimated $16 million in endorsements alone in 2019, which placed her second among female athletes behind only Serena Williams who earned $25 million.[171] The following year, she became the highest-paid female athlete of all time, having earned $37.4 million in total, including $34 million in endorsements.[172][173] Overall, she was the 29th highest-paid athlete in 2020 and the 8th highest-paid athlete in endorsements alone.[174][175]
Nike has been Osaka's apparel sponsor since 2019,[176] having replacedAdidas who had sponsored her for four years.[177] With Nike, Osaka has a clothing collection featuring her monogram logo that uses her initials and is inspired by the Japanese flag.[178][179] The Japanese sporting equipment manufacturerYonex has supplied her with rackets since 2008.[180] She plays with the Yonex Ezone 98 racket, equipped with Polytour Pro 125 and Rexis 130 strings.[181] Osaka has been represented by theIMG management company since 2016.[182] In 2022, Osaka left IMG, in order to set up her own sports management agency, Evolve, alongside her agent, Stuart Duguid.
Osaka is a brand ambassador for Japanese automobile manufacturerNissan and Japanese electronics manufacturerCitizen Watch.[180][183] She also endorses several other Japanese companies, including noodle makerNissin Foods, cosmetics producerShiseido, the broadcasting stationWowow, and airlineAll Nippon Airways (ANA).[184][185][186] Nissin Foods, one of the largest instant noodle companies internationally, was made to apologise and retract an advert, in which the company portrayed Osaka with white skin and light brown hair.[187][188]
Panasonic announced the signing of Osaka as brand ambassador in June 2021.[194] She is a promoter of the "Panasonic Green Impact" initiative alongside Olympic swimmerMichael Phelps and Olympic figure skaterNathan Chen.[195]Panasonic enlisted the three celebrity athletes for its sustainability mission and they were part of an ad campaign for climate change that included individual commercials and a commercial in which all three athletes are featured.[196][197]
Osaka was named a 2020Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year for her activism alongside the year's other prominent activist sports championsLeBron James,Breanna Stewart, andPatrick Mahomes, as well as medical workerLaurent Duvernay-Tardif.[201] She was also honored as one of theTime 100 most influential people in the world in 2020 for her activism, having also been named to the list in 2019 for representing professional tennis well as an excellent role model and a major champion.[202][203] Osaka's activism has drawn attention from the scholarly community studying celebrity and advocacy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and following the police killing of George Floyd.[204][205]
Osaka has been featured as the main character in amanga series published byKodansha inNakayoshi, a leading Japaneseshojo magazine. The series is being drawn byFutago Kamikita and was made with the help of Osaka's sister Mari. The first edition appeared in the February 2021 issue of the magazine, which was released in December 2020.[206][207]In March 2021, Osaka spoke out againstanti-Asian hate crimes.[208]
Osaka began a relationship with American rapperCordae (then YBN Cordae) in 2019.[209][210] In January 2023, not long after withdrawing from the Australian Open, Osaka revealed that she was pregnant with her first child with Cordae.[120] Osaka later said she hoped to return to tennis for the2024 Australian Open in January 2024.[211] During her pregnancy, Osaka received antibiotics to treatGroup B streptococcus. She also learned that the umbilical cord had been wrapped around her unborn child's neck.[212] On July 7, 2023, she welcomed a healthy girl.[213] On January 6, 2025, Osaka announced that she and Cordae were no longer in a relationship, adding that there is "no bad blood" between the two and that Cordae is "an awesome person and father".[214]
Osaka has lived with depression since the 2018 US Open.[215] In May 2021, she refused to take part in required press conferences during the French Open and was consequently fined $15,000 and threatened with expulsion from the tournament. On May 31, Osaka withdrew from the event to restore her mental health and well-being.[216] Less than a month later, she pulled out of Wimbledon to take "some personal time with friends and family."[217][218] At the 2020 Olympics, she lost in the third round.[219]
In September 2021 at the US Open, she lost to Leylah Fernandez. During the match, she threw her racket three times and received a code violation for firing a ball at the spectators.[220] Asked why, she replied, "I'm not really sure why" and "recently I feel very anxious when things don't go my way."[221] Osaka then announced she was taking an indefinite break from the sport. Later in 2021, she said she was in therapy.[222]
At the 2022 Indian Wells Open, a heckler unsettled Osaka to the point of tears.[223] She returned to therapy and later said it "really helped" and that she is better prepared for incidents. In a May 2022 interview, Osaka said that while there have been ups and downs, she feels very content with her mental health journey.[224]
In May 2022, Osaka announced after being represented by IMG for six years, she is partnering with her agent, Stuart Duguid, to form her own sports agency, Evolve. Her contract with IMG expired at the end of 2021, and the renewal talks were stalled. Osaka and Duguid will have equity stakes in the new agency.[228] On June 20, 2022, Osaka announced that she had signedNick Kyrgios as her first client.[229]
In 2022, Osaka and Duguid launched Hana Kuma, a media and production company.[230] It was initially launched in partnership with TheSpringHill Company and after a $5 million fundraising round, spun-off independently in 2023. The company has many ventures, including the video interview series "Good Trouble withNick Kyrgios".[230] In 2024, Hana Kuma announced a partnership with the LPGA to create a brand building programme for female golfers.[231]
^Uchida, Akira (October 5, 2016)."大坂なおみが18年間を振り返る「お姉ちゃんこそ最大のライバル」" [Naomi Osaka looks back over 18 years: 'My sister is my biggest rival'].Sportiva (in Japanese).Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. RetrievedOctober 30, 2018.
^Gatto, Luigi (September 27, 2016)."Naomi Osaka signs with IMG".Tennis World USA.Archived from the original on July 3, 2018. RetrievedNovember 3, 2018.
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