{"id":1749,"date":"2021-05-26T16:12:34","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T20:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/?p=1749"},"modified":"2021-05-27T16:56:38","modified_gmt":"2021-05-27T20:56:38","slug":"naomi-osaka-is-more-than-good-with-being-naomi-osaka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/naomi-osaka-is-more-than-good-with-being-naomi-osaka\/","title":{"rendered":"Naomi Osaka Is More Than Good With Being Naomi Osaka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi Osaka idolizes Serena Williams and Kobe Bryant. Like Bryant, Osaka arrived at professional sports as a teenager, a product of an international upbringing, burdened by the weight of comparisons to a global icon, one of the greatest of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the same way that Kobe established his brand while enduring comparisons to Michael Jordan, Osaka has added new layers to roads Williams paved. Sports journalists and fans used to ask, \u201cis Osaka the next Serena?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No. Osaka is not the next Serena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She\u2019s the first Naomi, an athlete, self-aware social activist, entrepreneur and philanthropist who transcends sports and cultures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Earlier this month, poet Amanda Gorman tweeted \u201cSee you soon legends,\u201d to actor Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet, singer Billie Ellish and Osaka, her co-hosts at the 2021 Met Gala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">See you soon legends <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RealChalamet?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RealChalamet<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/naomiosaka?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@naomiosaka<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/billieeilish?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@billieeilish<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DmZkXcW7DO\">pic.twitter.com\/DmZkXcW7DO<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Amanda Gorman (@TheAmandaGorman) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheAmandaGorman\/status\/1389249500531740674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 3, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It usually takes athletes years, even decades, to earn legendary status. Yet Osaka, who wasn\u2019t even born when Williams turned pro in 1995, arrived at legendary early. She&#8217;s only the second tennis star to co-host the mega-watt celebrity ball. It comes just two years after Williams co-chaired the event with Harry Styles and Lady Gaga.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That Osaka, 23, would already join an exclusive club that includes Williams, Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, George Clooney, Nicole Kidman and other A-listers indicates how quickly the tennis ace capitulated from relative obscurity to icon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Naomi the Athlete Activist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In just three years since winning the 2018 U.S. Open, her first Grand Slam, Osaka has replaced Williams as the highest-paid female athlete in the world. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportico.com\/personalities\/athletes\/2021\/naomi-osaka-2021-earnings-record-55-million-tennis-ace-1234630530\/\">According to <em>Sportico<\/em><\/a><em>,<\/em> Osaka earned $55.2 million in 12 months. Just $5 million of that was in prize money. The rest came in endorsements.<\/p><div id=\"first-937661393\" class=\"first-content first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream2 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700413625220-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700413625220-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osaka is now a four-time Grand Slam champion and ranked No. 2 on the WTA Tour. Williams is No. 8. Naomi\u2019s four Slam titles place her third among active players, behind Serena (23) and Venus (7), for most Slams won. Osaka has won more Grand Slam titles in three years than Serena has won in the last five years. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.laureus.com\/world-sports-awards\/2021\/laureus-world-sportswoman-of-the-year\/naomi-osaka\">Two weeks ago<\/a>, Osaka won the prestigious Laureus Award for Sportswoman of the Year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She\u2019s grabbed as many headlines for speaking out about social justice as she has for winning tennis tournaments. Once considered quiet and awkward, Osaka speaks loud and proud when it comes to social justice. She\u2019s more emphatic in her activism than Arthur Ashe or Serena was early in their careers. She joined the Black Lives Matters protest. During the 2020 US Open, <a href=\"https:\/\/theundefeated.com\/features\/naomi-osaka-made-sure-black-lives-mattered-at-the-us-open\/\">Osaka wore masks<\/a> adorned with BLM and the names of Black victims of police brutality onto the court. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Names of people such as Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, George Floyd, and Philando Castile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Backlash ensued but Osaka remained focused and unbothered. She won the 2020 U.S. Open and the 2021 Australian Open. After the Associated Press named her the 2020 Female Athlete of the Year, Osaka said, \u201cI am proud of my U.S. Open victory, but more so that I got people talking about the real issues.\u201d <\/p><div id=\"first-3023872793\" class=\"first-content_2 first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream3 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700413989195-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700413989195-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"464\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Naomi-Osaka-BLM-Shirt-GettyImages-1269345570.jpg?resize=696%2C464&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1758\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Naomi-Osaka-BLM-Shirt-GettyImages-1269345570.jpg?w=1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Naomi-Osaka-BLM-Shirt-GettyImages-1269345570.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Naomi-Osaka-BLM-Shirt-GettyImages-1269345570.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Naomi-Osaka-BLM-Shirt-GettyImages-1269345570.jpg?resize=150%2C100&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Naomi-Osaka-BLM-Shirt-GettyImages-1269345570.jpg?resize=696%2C464&amp;ssl=1 696w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Naomi-Osaka-BLM-Shirt-GettyImages-1269345570.jpg?resize=630%2C420&amp;ssl=1 630w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" \/><figcaption>(Photo by Matthew Stockman\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osaka is aware of her international platform and the megaphone it affords her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Born in Japan, Osaka plays tennis for her native country. She and her family moved to New York and Florida, but she now resides in the Los Angeles area in a $6.9 million house <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dirt.com\/athletes\/sports-stars\/naomi-osaka-house-beverly-hills-1203296210\/\">she bought from Nick Jonas<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam, Osaka is celebrated in a country with a sordid history in its treatment of mixed-race citizens. In Japan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2020\/09\/22\/asia\/japan-mixed-roots-hafu-dst-hnk-intl\/index.html\">mixed-raced citizens are often called \u201cHafu&#8221;,<\/a> a derogatory term to describe one\u2019s non-Japanese parent as half as good. Osaka is aware of Japan\u2019s racist past and present. In 2019, after Osaka won the Australian Open, a couple of Japanese comedians had to apologize for saying she looked \u201ctoo sunburnt and needed some bleach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi Osaka is unapologetically Black but simultaneously honors her mother\u2019s Japanese roots and her father\u2019s Haitian heritage. Despite this, her identity is constantly questioned. Why doesn\u2019t she use her father\u2019s name? She was also an American, why didn\u2019t she play for the United States? Why doesn\u2019t she play for Haiti? <\/p><div id=\"first-2446122051\" class=\"first-content_3 first-entity-placement\"><!-- \/22950135888\/FAP_Article_Leaderboard_Instream4 -->\r\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1700414036595-0' style='min-width: 300px; min-height: 90px;'>\r\n  <script>\r\n    googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1700414036595-0'); });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She hopes that along with accepting her tennis triumphs, people in Japan will embrace a less homogeneous idea of what it means to be Japanese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019m just trying to put a platform out for all the Japanese people that look like me and live in Japan and when they go to a restaurant, they get handed an English menu, even though it\u2019s just a little microaggression,\u201d she said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2020\/aug\/25\/naomi-osaka-reflects-on-challenges-of-being-black-and-japanese\">in an interview with the Guardian<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi is far too savvy at being Naomi, so don\u2019t bother trying to pigeonhole her. She ignores reporters from Japan who pester her to give interviews in Japanese. Osaka takes questions in Japanese and understands the language. She prefers to provide answers in English and rejects attempts to use language fluency as a barometer of her birthright.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She\u2019s also aware of how others want to weaponize her mixed-race heritage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When she defeated Serena in the final of the 2018 US Open, some people tried to push the \u201cdemure Asian\u201d vs. the angry black woman narrative. Williams\u2019 beef was with the chair umpire, never with Osaka, who made it clear that she didn\u2019t have an issue with her idol. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe\u2019s my tennis mom,\u201d Osaka told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unafraid to speak truth to power, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-japan-politics-women-osaka\/japans-osaka-says-tokyo-2020-chief-resignation-over-sexist-comments-was-really-good-idUSKBN2AI0TH\">Osaka called out former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori<\/a>, when he made sexist remarks as head of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics organizing committee. Mori resigned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think for me, what it means is that there&#8217;s a lot of things I think people used to accept the things that used to be said, but you&#8217;re seeing the newer generation not tolerate a lot of things,\u201d Osaka said in a post-match interview at the Australian Open. \u201cI feel like it&#8217;s really good because you&#8217;re pushing forward, barriers are being broken down, especially for females.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Naomi the Business<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Off the court, Naomi is amassing a portfolio that rivals Michale Jordan\u2019s of the 1990s. According to Forbes, Osaka earned $37.4 million in endorsements and prize money between May 2019 and May 2020, a record for a female athlete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">David Carter, a sports business professor at USC\u2019s Marshall School of Business, told Forbes, \u201cTo those outside the tennis world, Osaka is a relatively fresh face with a great back story&#8230;Combine that with being youthful and bicultural, two attributes that help her resonate with younger, global audiences, and the result is the emergence of a global sports marketing icon.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osaka has deals with Nike, Levis, Louis Vuitton, Beats and Tag Heuer. She\u2019s highly sought after but very selective with who she partners with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s important for me to represent things I actually believe in,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/05\/19\/style\/naomi-osaka-sweetgreen-beats-nike.html\">Osaka told Sheila Marikar of the New York Times<\/a>. \u201cI would never do, like, McDonald\u2019s or Coca-Cola, because I don\u2019t consume them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She added, \u201cyou can always tell when someone\u2019s lying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osaka seeks partnerships and ownership. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teenvogue.com\/story\/naomi-osaka-announces-skincare-line-kinlo\">She\u2019s CEO of Kinlo<\/a>, a new brand of skincare for people with \u201cmelanated skin.\u201d She understands how the beauty industry ignores needs specific to women with darker skin. The name of the company combines the Japanese and Haitian words for \u201cgold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">A note from our Founder &amp; CEO <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/naomiosaka?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@naomiosaka<\/a>: <br><br>\u201cWelcome to KINL\u00d2 &#8211; I can\u2019t wait to share my <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/KINLOSKIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#KINLOSKIN<\/a> journey with each of you. KINLO is functional skincare for those with melanated skintones\u201d. <br><br>More to come this Fall! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/STAYGOLDEN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#STAYGOLDEN<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/KINLOSKIN?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#KINLOSKIN<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/MYXooq9drP\">pic.twitter.com\/MYXooq9drP<\/a><\/p>&mdash; KINL\u00d2 (@kinloskin) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kinloskin\/status\/1387119612345655296?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 27, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The blueprint for her path to success was created by Richard Williams and adopted by Osaka\u2019s father. In July 2020, Serena invested in the Los Angeles-based Angel City women\u2019s soccer team. This past January, <a href=\"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/staging\/5861\/naomi-osaka-invests-in-womens-soccer-team\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Osaka purchased a stake in the NWSL&#8217;s North Carolina Courage<\/a>. To them, entrepreneurship is key to empowering women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osaka, also like Serena, leveraged her partnership with Nike to support causes dear to her such <a href=\"https:\/\/tennistonic.com\/tennis-news\/278098\/charity-naomi-osaka-to-help-girls-and-women-in-haiti-and-the-us-following-serena-williams-example\/\">as Osaka&#8217;s &#8220;Play Academy&#8221;<\/a>, which launched in Japan, Haiti, and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Naomi the Future<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi Osaka has the potential to transcend sports and culture in a way Serena never could. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Brand consultant Cindy Gallop says Osaka checks every box. \u201cShe\u2019s a spectacular athlete. She has a strong sense of social justice, she\u2019s prepared to speak her mind,\u201d said Gallop to the Times. \u201cI hate, loathe, and detest terms like this, but she is, in quotes, diverse. She ticks every box. You can practically hear the brand managers thinking: \u2018She is absolutely the right person to sponsor, right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osaka faces a tougher task if she wants to eclipse Serena in the record books. Serena excelled on all surfaces, hard, grass, and clay. So far, Osaka excels only on hard courts where she won all of her Slams. She\u2019s yet to advance beyond the third round at Wimbledon or the French Open. This year, Osaka suffered early exits at Madrid and Rome, the two biggest clay-court tournaments outside of the French Open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By age 23, Serena had won six Grand Slam singles titles, including a French Open and two Wimbledon trophies. She also had six Slam doubles titles and two in mixed doubles.&nbsp;Serena won the Sportswoman of the Year five times, her first at 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Osaka has work to do. Yet right now, she is the standard bearer for female international icons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Naomi has succeeded by staying true to Naomi. And regardless of how many slams she acquires, she\u2019s already cemented her place in history and secured her status as a legend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Naomi Osaka idolizes Serena Williams and Kobe Bryant. Like Bryant, Osaka arrived at professional sports as a teenager, a product of an international upbringing, burdened by the weight of comparisons to a global icon, one of the greatest of all time. In the same way that Kobe established his brand while enduring comparisons to Michael [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":825,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[156,334],"class_list":["post-1749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-naomi-osaka","tag-tennis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Naomi Osaka Is More Than Good With Being Naomi Osaka - First And Pen<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Naomi Osaka is already a force in tennis but now she&#039;s grown to become an activist, entrepreneur, brand and inspiration all by being herself.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/firstandpen.com\/naomi-osaka-is-more-than-good-with-being-naomi-osaka\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Naomi Osaka Is More Than Good With Being Naomi Osaka - 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