Logically, before answering the question of the title of this article, it is necessary to explain why Naomi Osaka is somewhat similar to Serena.
Similar to Serena's father, Richard Williams, Naomi Osaka's father, Leonard François, is also a black father of two daughters, both of whom are the daughter's guides into tennis.
In 1999, Serena and her sister Dawei teamed up to defeat Singis and Kurnikova in the French Open doubles final. Leonard François, who watched the game on TV, was amazed, and he was inspired in an instant, since Big and Small Can win the championship, so can my two daughters! Naomi Osaka was 2 years old at the time, and her sister Mari Osaka was 3 years old, both just toddlers. It was from that moment that François decided to let his two daughters learn to play tennis, and the father had never touched a tennis racket before.
To create better conditions for their daughter to play, the François family moved from Long Island, New York, to Fort Lauderdale, Broward County, Florida, where there are free public tennis courts. The two daughters began learning tennis at a public tennis court in the community. At the age of 15, Naomi Osaka entered a tennis academy called ISP for professional training, coached by Patrick Tauma. In 2014, Naomi Osaka transferred to harold Solomon Tennis Academy and later trained at the ProWorld Tennis Academy.
Recalling her childhood life, Naomi Osaka says that the walls of the room are plastered with posters of Serena, and the sisters regard Serena as an idol and are obsessed with watching Serena's matches.
Like Serena's father, Naomi Osaka's father was strict with his daughter, and the two fathers had a huge influence on their choices and shaped their characters. The only difference is that the big and small Wei sisters have all reached the top of the tennis world, while François only has the younger daughter Naomi Osaka to win the Grand Slam title, and the eldest daughter Omari Osaka has a mediocre performance and announced her retirement last year.
At her father's strict request, Naomi Osaka developed an introverted and shy personality, which also laid a hidden danger for her future depression.
Cyril Solnier, a former coach of Naomi Osaka, recalled all this by saying that François had a major impact on his daughter. "My communication with Naomi Osaka was not smooth because she was shy. Many of my messages had to be delivered through her father. He had a big impact on the sidelines, especially on his daughter's emotional control. ”
During the game, Osaka Naomi's expression has hardly changed, she always has a poker face, no matter what happens in the game, she is always expressionless, which makes it difficult to guess her heart.
At the WTA Hong Kong Open in October 2017, 20-year-old Naomi Osaka defeated Dawei for the first time. At the Miami Open in March of the following year, Naomi Osaka defeated Serena Williams 6-3, 6-2. Since then, Naomi Osaka has gradually gained a foothold on the tour by beating her childhood idol.
Just half a year later, Naomi Osaka achieved even more at the U.S. Open, reaching the Grand Slam singles final for the first time, sweeping Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4, winning a Grand Slam for the first time in her career, becoming the first Grand Slam singles champion in Japanese history and the second Asian to win a Grand Slam singles title.
However, Naomi Osaka's journey to win her first Grand Slam title was not exciting at all, or even a good memory, all because of Serena's conflict with the referee during the game.
Receiving coaching coaching and insulting the referee, Serena, who was warned three times, eventually lost the final. At the awards ceremony, Serena, whose mood returned to normal, asked the audience to stop booing and making noise, and to respect and welcome Flushing's new queen.
"Let's make this moment the best, please stop booing and congratulations to Naomi." After Serena finished speaking, the boos at the scene turned into applause.
Asked after the match what it was like to play against her idol at a Grand Slam, Naomi Osaka said, "When I entered the court, I was no longer a fan of Serena Williams, I was a tennis player, playing against another tennis player. But when we hugged and shook hands, I became a little girl again. ”
On the sidelines, Naomi Osaka also has the courage to speak out about social hot events like Serena. In the "Black Lives Matter" movement, Naomi Osaka flew to Minneapolis to participate in local protests after seeing george Floyd killed by police on television, where she published articles in the media denouncing "systemic racism and police brutality" and calling on tennis fans to pay attention to and engage.
Not just a verbal endorsement, she announced her retirement in Cincinnati, which prompted a one-day postponement of the semi-finals, saying in a statement: "As a black woman, I feel there are more important things on my hands than playing tennis that require immediate attention. ”
Then, before each round of the U.S. Open the previous year, Naomi Osaka would appear wearing a mask with a black name written on it as an indictment of racist atrocities.
From a common sense point of view, a shy and introverted person like Naomi Osaka should not be keen on participating in social activities, but she has acted very bravely in anti-racist activities, not only because of her black identity, but also because of the influence of her idol Serena Williams. In fact, Naomi Osaka herself is a victim of racial discrimination.
Naomi Osaka's mother, Tamaki Osaka, was opposed by her Japanese parents for her association with François, and the two young men were forced to leave Hokkaido and move to Osaka City, and Osaka Tamaki broke off contact with her parents for 15 years.
During this time, Tamaki Osaka gave birth to the sisters Omari Osaka and Naomi Osaka. In 2000, Naomi Osaka and her sister moved with their parents to New York, where they lived with their Haitian grandparents.
At the 2014 Stanford Classic, Naomi Osaka, who was under the age of 17, defeated former US Open champion Stosur, ranked 19th in the world, and has since gained fame. Her Japanese grandparents gradually accepted Naomi Osaka, whom she hadn't seen in years. Especially after Naomi Osaka won the US Open in 2018, her maternal grandparents said they were "proud" of her.
Japan is one of the least ethnically diverse countries, and Naomi Osaka's dark skin is always unconsciously reminiscent of her mixed-race status. Some people joked that "Naomi Osaka's dark skin needs bleach", and her sponsor once released a cartoon promo that did "bleach" her skin, which caused widespread controversy.
Japanese tennis player Naomi Hibino said in an interview with The New York Times that Naomi Osaka "has a clear difference in body from the Japanese," adding that she is "not a pure Japanese player like Kei Nishikori." ”
Although traditional Japanese culture disputes the black mixed race disputed by Naomi Osaka, she and her parents decided to become Japanese nationals and play for Japan, which some believe is mainly based on considerations of commercial sponsorship.
Similar to her mixed-race identity, Naomi Osaka is also a person with a complex personality. On the surface, she appeared shy, her voice soft and slow. But when she got to the field, she showed a strong fighting spirit and a desire to win, and dared to participate in the racial affirmative action movement.
People who don't know Naomi Osaka may think she is very confident and has a strong heart. On the contrary, beneath Naomi Osaka's powerful and calm surface lies a sensitive and fragile heart. To protect herself from reporters' questions, Naomi Osaka was punished by the French Open last year for refusing to attend a press conference and withdrew from the second round.
"I'm not a born speaker, and I feel tremendous anxiety before I speak to the world media," she said in a lengthy article in the media, explaining in detail the reasons for quitting the French Open. "People who know me know I'm introverted and people will also notice that I often appear with headphones on because it helps ease my social anxiety. The truth is, I've been suffering from depression since the 2018 U.S. Open, and I'm really struggling to cope with it. ”
In this regard, Naomi Osaka's experience is also similar to Serena's, and people often see Serena appearing with headphones. After Naomi Osaka was exposed to suffering from depression, Serena also stood up for the first time to express support and sympathy, "I hope to give Naomi Osaka a hug, because I know what it feels like." Everyone has their own personality and way of dealing with things, and we need to get her to handle it the way she wants. ”
After retiring from the French Open, Naomi Osaka missed Wimbledon again, ending last year's tournament after losing to Fernandez in the third round of the US Open. Despite dropping to 13th place, Naomi Osaka still ranked second in tennis athletes' earnings last year with $60 million, just $30 million less than number one Federer and $19 million more than third-placed Serena Williams.
Not only has her earning power surpassed Serena Williams, but Naomi Osaka's lighting of the torch at the Tokyo Olympics last year has surpassed Serena Serena's.
Compared to Serena, the question now facing Naomi Osaka is how many more Grand Slams she can win, and can she surpass Serena's record of 23 Grand Slam singles titles? (Source: Tennis House Author: Yun Cirrus Yunshu)