How Naomi Osaka is changing the women's sporting landscape
Naomi Osaka is one of the most famous tennis players in the world. The 23-year-old has been in the limelight since 2018, when she became the US Open champion. Osaka is known for being an aggressive baseline player and has a powerful forehand and serve.
Naomi Osaka withdrew from the Wimbledon Championships this year as she wanted to spend time with her family. However, the four-time Grand Slam winner will be headlining the Tokyo Olympics 2020, her debut Summer Games. The quadrennial event will be special for her as it will be taking place in her home country.
Noami Osaka will make headlines for more than one reason this summer. She is not just a tennis player anymore; she is now also seen as someone who raises her voice for what's right. Noami Osaka is one of the athletes who has been vocal about women's rights in sports.
Read: Naomi Osaka claims she "loves the press" but says she felt pressured to disclose her mental health issues because people didn't believe her
Naomi Osaka is more than just a tennis player
Naomi Osaka was brought up in a multicultural family; her father, Leonard Maxime Francois is Haitian and her mother, Tamaki Osaka, is Japanese. Due to some practical reasons, she and her sister were given their mother's family name when they lived in Japan.
The 23-year-old is one of the top female tennis players in the world today. But she is also a campaigner for social issues; Naomi Osaka has often been in the news advocating for the right thing.
During the 2021 French Open, she refused to attend a mandatory post-match press conference citing mental health issues. That became a huge point of controversy, but Osaka received support from a few other tennis players in her fight against the old-fashioned press conference model.
Read: "Could not be more excited to play in Tokyo" - Naomi Osaka on her return to tennis, dealing with the press, and mental health struggles
Naomi Osaka's new goal is to inspire young girls to pick up sport. Osaka believes people think she's quiet and so doesn't fit the profile of an inspiring athlete, but she wants to prove them wrong.
In a recent campaign for the Olympics, the Japanese talked about how it is wrong to stereotype people based on their demeanor.
"People might think I’m quiet. Different. That I don’t fit the box of what an Olympian should be. I'm proof that the definition is bigger than the people think. I want to inspire the girls out there watching right now," Osaka said.
Naomi Osaka wants to motivate girls to believe in themselves no matter who they are. She has encouraged them not to let the expectations of other people dictate their life.
"If we don't fit that expectation of what people think we are supposed to be, good! That means we are the ones to who get to change it," she added.
Naomi Osaka wants to bring about change in every sport in which women participate. She also wants to empower women athletes across the world to speak up for what's right.
Also read: Naomi Osaka says winning gold at Tokyo Olympics "would mean the world" to her
Watch Naomi Osaka's full video released by the Olympics team here:
Read: Naomi Osaka says she is not "shy" about tennis as she is better at the sport than "99% of the population"