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Naomi OsakaJapanese tennis player
Country:
 Japan |
Content:
Biography of Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka is a Japanese tennis player. She was born into an international family, with her father, Leonard Francois, hailing from Haiti, and her mother, Tamaki, being Japanese. Osaka has an older sister, Mari, who is also a professional tennis player.
Early Life and Career
Osaka's favorite tennis surface is hard court, and her best shot is her forehand. As a child, Osaka looked up to Serena Williams as her sports idol. Her career goal is to climb up the WTA rankings. If she had not become a professional tennis player, Osaka would have likely chosen a career as a sports agent. She prefers an aggressive style of play on the court.
Rise to Prominence
Osaka gained recognition in the tennis world in the summer of 2014 when she made her debut in the main draw at a WTA tournament in Stanford. In her first match, she defeated former US Open champion Samantha Stosur, who was ranked 19th in the world at the time.
Osaka achieved her best result in a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, where she reached the fourth round. She lost to the tournament's top seed, Simona Halep from Romania. Throughout the tournament, Osaka defeated Kristina Kucova from Slovakia, Elena Vesnina from Russia, and Ashleigh Barty from Australia.
In mid-February, Osaka reached the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships but lost to the top-seeded Elina Svitolina. Later in March, she won her first title at the Indian Wells tournament, defeating Daria Kasatkina in the final with a score of 6-3, 6-2.
Continued Success
In early 2019, Osaka reached the semifinals of the Brisbane International tournament. She then went on to win her second consecutive Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, defeating Petra Kvitova from the Czech Republic in the final. This victory also propelled her to become the first Asian player to reach the top of the WTA singles rankings.
Throughout the year, Osaka participated in various tournaments, reaching the semifinals in Stuttgart in April and the quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome in May. However, she faced early exits at the French Open, losing in the third round to Katerina Siniakova, and at Wimbledon, losing in the first round to Yulia Putintseva.
In September 2020, after a prolonged break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Osaka reached the final of the US Open, where she came back from losing the first set to defeat Victoria Azarenka with a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. She became the first player in 25 years to win the tournament after losing the first set in the final.
