Naomi Osaka

Okay, here's the thing about Naomi Osaka that gets me: on court she's flat-out terrifying, ripping that flat serve and bullying the baseline like she's annoyed the rally lasted this long, and then she steps to the mic and turns into the shyest, most quietly funny person in the room. That contrast is the whole magic. Beating Serena to win the 2018 US Open and becoming the first Asian player to hit world No. 1 is absurd on its own, but what really sticks with me is that she made it normal to say "I'm struggling" out loud and basically dragged the conversation about athlete mental health into the open. Throw in the anime obsession, the gaming, the unapologetic love of katsu curry, and you've got a champion who's powerful and gentle at once. I just want her shining at her own pace.

Naomi Osaka was born on October 16, 1997, in Chūō, Osaka, Japan, and moved to the United States with her family in 2001. She turned professional in 2013, trained from an early age under the guidance of her father, and rose to global prominence by winning the 2018 US Open — becoming the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title. She won four Grand Slam singles titles in total (2018 US Open, 2019 Australian Open, 2020 US Open, 2021 Australian Open) and reached World No. 1 in 2019, becoming the first Asian player to achieve that ranking.

Name (English)

Naomi Osaka

Name (Japanese)

大坂なおみ

Reading

おおさかなおみ

Born

October 16, 1997 (age 28)

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Libra / Ox

Origin

Chūō, Osaka, Japan

Height

180 cm

Agency

Nissin Food Holdings (affiliated) / IMG (management)

Active years

2013–present

Occupation

Tennis player

High school

Broward Virtual School (correspondence; graduated 2014)

University

Did not attend university

Debut

Turned professional in 2013. First appearance in an international tournament main draw in 2014.

Awards & achievements

• 2016 WTA Newcomer of the Year (first Japanese player to receive the award)
• 2018 US Open champion (first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title)
• 2019 Australian Open champion
• 2019 World No. 1 ranking (first Asian player to reach No. 1)
• 2020 US Open champion (second title)
• 2021 Australian Open champion (fourth Grand Slam title)
• 2021 Tokyo 2020 Olympics final torchbearer

Timeline

1. 1997Born in Chūō, Osaka, Japan
2. 2001Family relocates to New York, United States
3. 2006Family moves to Pembroke Pines, Florida; continues tennis training
4. 2008Signs sponsorship deal with Yonex
5. 2013Begins career as a professional tennis player
6. 2016Breaks into the WTA top 100 for the first time; wins WTA Newcomer of the Year award
7. 2018Wins the US Open — her first Grand Slam title and the first for a Japanese player
8. 2019Wins the Australian Open; becomes the first Asian player to reach World No. 1
9. 2020Wins the US Open; wears masks bearing names of Black victims to support the Black Lives Matter movement throughout the tournament
10. 2021Wins the Australian Open; withdraws from the French Open after declining press conferences and publicly addresses her mental health; serves as the final torchbearer at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
11. 2023Announces pregnancy and takes a break from the tour; gives birth to a daughter, Shai, in July
12. 2024Returns to the tour after approximately 15 months, starting at the Brisbane International

Spouse

Unmarried (was in a common-law relationship with Cordae; breakup announced January 2025)

Children

One daughter (Shai, born July 2023)

Parents

Father: Haitian-American / Mother: Japanese (from Nemuro, Hokkaido)

Siblings

Older sister: Mari Osaka (professional tennis player)

Hobbies

• Anime and manga
• Gaming (e.g., Skyrim)
• Photography (DSLR camera)
• Music (hip-hop)
• Meditation and journaling

Specialties

• Flat serve
• Baseline groundstrokes

• Official sitehttps://www.naomiosaka.jp/
• Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/naomiosaka/
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E5%9D%82%E3%81%AA%E3%81%8A%E3%81%BF
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17466583

Tags

• Tennis
• Naomi Osaka
• Grand Slam
• From Osaka
• Nissin Food
• Mental health
• Black Lives Matter
• First Asian World No. 1

Last updated

2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.