Naomi Osaka nicknames her soon-to-be launched Nike sneakers

Naomi Osaka cemented her relations with sportswear giant Nike with a new soon-to-be launched pair of NikeCourt Air Zoom GP Turbo 'Naomi Osaka' sneakers.

The former World No.1 began her collaboration with Nike in 2019, and since then, the brand has extended her line to include clothing items such as t-shirts, shorts, and hoodies, not just tennis apparel.

Osaka shared a first look at the black and yellow sneakers with pop icons of fruits and snacks, which prompted her to nickname them "Snack packs," on Twitter.

"They’re called the Snack packs.lol," she wrote.

They’re called the Snack packs 👟🍿🍡 lol twitter.com/_1stlook/statu…

Fans gave a positive response with some suggesting Osaka to wear them when she returns on-court post pregnancy.

Osaka, who is expecting her first child with boyfriend Cordae, last played in the 2022 Indian Wells and won the runner-up trophy. During an interview with a Japanese sports journalist in April, she hinted at her return to next year's Australian Open.

Naomi Osaka addresses 'concerns' of her return, feels confident of her career post pregnancy

Naomi Osaka spoke out against 'concerns' regarding her comeback after pregnancy.

The former US Open champion is due to deliver in the month of June/July. In an interview with a Japanese sports journalist, she sounded confident of her career and contemplated returning to court at the 2024 Australian Open.

"I'm definitely going to perform well and be a better player than I have been last year. For me, my results just made me want to try harder and be the best that I can be. I’ll be competing in Australia next year," she said.

However, she received a few comments by skeptical fans with 'concerns'.

The 25-year-old took to Twitter to answer them and wrote that one might want to direct such comments to her male counterparts with children and "significantly less" accomplishments.

"Btw to the people that are suddenly concerned about my career- There are plenty of male athletes with kids that are significantly less accomplished, you might wanna worry about them instead. Thanks for the concern, might wanna redirect it to someone that needs it though," she posted.

Btw to the people that are suddenly concerned about my career- There are plenty of male athletes with kids that are significantly less accomplished, you might wanna worry about them instead. Thanks for the concern, might wanna redirect it to someone that needs it though 😬.

She urged fans to be fair while raising the topic and clarified that her tweet was not intended to create a gender-based debate.

"Not trying to make this a male and female thing but let’s be fr," she added.

Many fans wrote in support of Osaka citing examples of women athletes who have juggled their families and careers successfully.