Following Nick Kyrgios, Naomi Osaka's agency signs World No.2 Ons Jabeur
Naomi Osaka's management agency for athletes, Evolve, recently announced the signing of World No. 2 Ons Jabeur.
Osaka co-founded Evolve in May 2022 along with her longtime agent at IMG, Stuart Duguid. The agency focuses on brand collaboration, investing, creating athlete-owned ventures, and philanthropy.
Nick Kyrgios signed for Evolve shortly after its formation and the agency recently signed Ons Jabeur along with her business partner Adel Aref, who previously worked with French soccer powerhouse PSG.
Evolve founder Stuart Duguid called the WTA World No. 2 an ideal client and stated that her influence transcended sports.
"Ons is an ideal Evolve client. As an Arab woman from Africa, she is a trailblazer and a truly captivating tennis player. Her influence extends beyond sports and into wider culture. Her impact on the Middle East and beyond is transformative," Duguid said.
Naomi Osaka recently praised Ons Jabeur for being Vogue Arabia's cover star for their January edition.
"This is so good @onsjabeur," the Japanese wrote on her Instagram story.
Naomi Osaka has become an accomplished entrepreneur
Naomi Osaka is rapidly growing her portfolio as an entrepreneur with various business ventures. In September 2021, she launched her own skincare brand, Kinlo, the name of which comes from Japanese and Haitian Creole.
"So Kinlo comes from part Japanese and part Haitian Creole language. So I thought that was really cool because I feel it sort of represents me as well. And kin is Japanese for gold, so I thought that that was cool. But in Japanese, words can also mean several different things, so it was quite interesting trying to choose one specific word," Osaka said.
Osaka also launched her media company Hana Kuma in partnership with basketball star LeBron James in June 2022.
"I’ve built my career taking a different approach than those around me and because my journey has been so different it’s opened my eyes to all the incredible stories out there that aren’t getting told," Osaka said.
"Stories that are global, about a variety of cultures and points of view, about important social issues. That’s why I’m launching Hana Kuma, a media platform focused on stories that are culturally specific but universal. Stories that are bold and playful like me," she added.
Naomi Osaka said last month that investing was the most interesting part of her business and that she has learned a lot over the past 18 months.
"The most interesting aspect of the business for me is investing. I’ve learned a ton in the last 18 months. That’s probably the area where I’m most engaged," the 25-year-old said.