She beat Serena Williams, she won the Australian Open, she’s on the cover of Time… and now Naomi Osaka has her own Who2 biography. Congratulations to her on all fronts.
The Time cover, dated January 21, was prescient: five days later she defeated Petra Kvitova 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-4 to win the Australian Open. It was Osaka’s second straight major title, having conquered 23-time major winner Serena Williams in the U.S. Open final last September (yes, the one marred by Williams’s complicated wrangle with a hyperactive chair umpire).
Naomi Osaka represents Japan, although she has a three-nation background: born (yes, in Osaka) to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, then raised largely in the United States. She turned pro at the young age of 15 in 2013, took a few years to build up a head of steam, and then won her first pro tournament at Indian Wells last year. Now she’s a two-time major winner at age 21. Her win means she’ll be ranked #1 in the world, and The Telegraph says she’s closing in on her ambition to “become the new Serena Williams.” Good luck to her!
See our full Naomi Osaka biography »