Her openness about her struggles with mental health and the pressure of expectations inspired many athletes and others to share their own stories. Her father, Leonard, is Haitian, and her mother, Tamaki, is Japanese. The two met in when Leonard was visiting Sapporo as a college student. The couple moved to Osaka; for nearly a decade, Tamaki had virtually no contact with her family. In Osaka, the couple had a daughter, Mari also a professional tennis player.
I just had to follow it. With access to gyms, free public courts, instructional books, and DVDs, Leonard made both Mari and Naomi hit thousands of balls a day. Osaka, who started playing tennis at age 3, recalls she was motivated by her desire to beat her sister. It took her 12 years, but she got there. Beyond tennis, Osaka was surrounded by a loving and multicultural family. Her paternal grandparents spoke no English and made many Creole dishes that she loved.
Her mother spoke to her in Japanese and made Japanese food she also loved. Osaka feels both the Haitian and Japanese cultures and languages are equally important to her. After five years in Long Island, the family moved to Broward County, Florida to focus on tennis full time.
It also had a sizable Haitian communityβCreole is the third most spoken language in the county. Osaka and her sister trained on the Pembroke Pines public court during the day and were homeschooled at night. Like the Williams sisters, Osaka and her sister skipped the usual circuit of junior tournaments and competed against older players.
This meant the two did not have a ranking or much tournament experience and few coaches took interest in helping develop the sisters. As a dual-citizen, Osaka could choose to play for either Japan or the United States when she turned professional. Her father decided Osaka would play for Japan because he thought it would open up more opportunities. As a pro tennis player, Osaka began competing and finding success. In , a reporter asked about her career goals. Osaka burst onto the international stage in Not only did she win two Grand Slam tournamentsβthe U.
