Naomi Osaka is a professional tennis player of Japanese and Haitian descent. The 2019 WTA world number 1 is slowly becoming an inspiration to many, especially young girls that with determination and hard work, every goal and aspiration is achievable. Known for her powerful serves and aggressive style of play, Naomi Osaka has become one of the most formidable female tennis players on planet Earth. In this Naomi Osaka biography facts, childhood, net worth and personal life, we discuss the profile and life (from childhood to present) of the top professional tennis player.
Our analysis on Naomi Osaka also includes her career highlights, earnings, accomplishments and how she rose to become one of the biggest names in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
Table of Contents
Naomi Osaka Biography Facts, Wiki, Age, Zodiac
- Full Name: Naomi Osaka
- Nick Name: Naomi Chan
- Date of Birth: October 16 1997
- Place of Birth: Chuo-ku, Osaka
- Nationality: Japanese
- Height: 5 ft 10 (178 cm)
- Weight: 69 kg (152 lbs)
- Occupation: Tennis Player
- Playing Career: 2016 till date
- Parents:
- Father: Leonard François
- Mother: Tamaki Osaka
- Siblings: Mari Osaka
- Prize Money: $13,492,479
- Net Worth: $25 million
- Zodiac: Libra
Naomi Osaka Childhood Story, Family Background & Early Life
On the 16th of October 1997 in Chuo-ku Osaka, Tamaki Osaka (mother) and Leonard François (father) welcomed their second baby girl into the world. She was just 3 years old, when her family migrated from Japan to the United States, to live in Long Island, New York with her paternal grandparents. Inspired by the story of the Williams Sisters and watching them play in the 1999 French Open, Leonard François made a brilliant decision to teach his two daughters how to play tennis. He wasn’t really much of a tennis player, yet he followed the footsteps of Richard Williams and started teaching his daughters as soon as they were settled in their new home.
Determined to see his daughters succeed, he moved his family from Long Island, New York to Florida in 2006 to make sure that his daughters could have better opportunities to train. So Naomi practised in the public courts of Pembroke Pines until she was 15, then she began working with a French coach at the ‘ISP Academy’ named Patrick Tauma. Money was tight, and her mom had to work really hard to support her family and ensure that Naomi and her sister could train at the academy, even on a small budget.
Naomi Osaka Professional Tennis Career & Achievements
Early Career & Rise to Top 144
Osaka’s route to the top was highly unusual, unlike most tennis players who have to pass through the ITF Junior Circuit first before trying their hands on stronger and more experienced opponents. She only took part in a few junior tournaments, before heading straight for the ITF Women’s Circuit. On her 14th birthday, she played her first qualifying match, then made her debut alongside Mari, her elder sister in a doubles tournament. At the ITF level, she was able to reach the final in four separate tournaments but could go no further than the runner-up position.
In September 2013, just before her 16th birthday, she played her first two qualifying rounds for 2 separate WTA tours, and it was the start of her professional career. By the summer of 2014, Naomi qualified for the main draw of the WTA, and scored her first major offset against ‘Samantha Stosur’ who was the world’s No. 19 at the time. Naomi was just 16 years old and was No. 406 in the world rankings when she beat Stosur’.
Her second victory as a wild card in the ‘Japan Women’s Open’ saw her rise into the top 250. The following year saw her reach 2 finals in the ITF, and even though she didn’t win, her performance was enough to see her rankings rise to the point of qualifying for her first singles Grand Slam events in the US Open. She won her first qualifying match, but she couldn’t pull through to the main draw but finished the year as No 144 in the world rankings.
Top 100 & WTA Newcomer of the Year
By 2016, she was competing in three tournaments in Australia and her great performances saw her move a lot closer to the top 100, which qualified her for every WTA Tour event that season. She finally qualified for her first main draw event at the Grand Slam of the Australian Open and made it to the 3rd round even beating Elina Svitolina who was No. 21 at the time, before losing to world’s No.16 Victoria Azarenka.
Osaka then had two victories as a wild card in the Miami Open with one of those victories against Sara Erani (No 18). These victories over top opponents were enough to see Naomi break into the top 100. She reached her first WTA final, and caused 3 major offsets most notably against Dominika Cibulkova and was now in the top 50 with the WTA naming her ‘Newcomer of the year.’
She had some big results in 2017 that helped her maintain her rankings. She got to the round of 16 at the Canadian Open and upset Anastasija Sevastova before having to retire against world No. 1 Karolina Pliskova after sustaining an abdominal injury despite winning a set. She did compete in Wimbledon and the US Open, reaching the third round of both GrandSlams, beating Barbara Strycova (No. 23) and Angelique Kerber (No.6) in Wimbledon and the US respectively.
Grand Slam Winner
Seeing that her progress had stagnated, Osaka fired her coach and hired ‘Sascha Bajin’ in the off-season. Her performance improved, she got to the fourth round of the Australian Open Grand Slam for the first time, defeating two top 20 players along the way. Then she won her first professional title at the ‘Indian Wells Open’ beating two out of the top five in the world rankings. Her very convincing title win pushed her to No 22. The middle of the season was a quiet one for Osaka, falling out in the third round of both tournaments in Wimbledon and the French Open.
Her second title of the year came at the Grand Slam of the US Open, where she worked her way to victory in the final against her idol Serena Williams. With that victory, she became the first Japanese and the first Asian male or female to win a Grand Slam singles tournament.
World No. 1
With her convincing victory in the US Open, Osaka was now in the top 10 and she got to the final of her next tournament the ‘Pan Pacific Open’ before finally losing to Pliskova ending her 10-game winning streak. The China Open saw her reach the semi-finals, this brought her to No. 4 in the world rankings. After playing in the WTA finals, Osaka ended her season as the WTA Tour leader of the year and a whopping $6.4 million in prize money.
Osaka began 2019 with another hard-fought Grand Slam title in the Australian Open, having lost a set against Anastasija Sevastova in the 4th round, Karolina Pliskova in the semi-final and Petra Kvitova in the final. Her victory made her the first Asian to win 2 Grand Slam “singles” titles in a row and became world No. 1.
She had to part ways with her coach ‘Sascha Bajin’ after guiding her to two successive Grand Slam titles for undisclosed reasons. Her tempo dropped almost immediately, losing out in the 4th round of the ‘Indian Wells Open’ and in the third rounds of the Miami Open and the French Open. It was after she lost at the 4th round of the US Open that she made Leonard Francois her father as her coach again. This had an immediate impact on her game, as she won the last two tournaments of the season and qualified for the WTA finals, but had to drop out of the tournament because of an injury.
Naomi Osaka Personal Life
Not much is known about Osaka’s personal life she is a shy person and doesn’t talk really talk to the media about her personal life.
Osaka currently lives in Beverley Hills and considers her elder sister Mari to be her biggest rival on the tennis court.
Naomi Osaka Net Worth, Prize Money & Endorsements
How much is Naomi Osaka’s net worth?
As of March 2020, Naomi Osaka has a total net worth of about US$25 million. Her Meteoric rise to the top has made a huge impact on her earnings as well as her overall net worth. In 2019, she raked in over $8 million in prize money, before raking in a further $16 million from her various endorsement deals with Nissan Motors, MasterCard, All Nippon Airways and Procter and Gamble. Forbes ranked her as the second-highest-paid female athlete of 2019, with her idol Serena Williams taking the top spot.
SEE MORE: Biography facts and profiles of famous tennis players
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