Naomi Osaka is one of the most well-known names in the world of tennis, known for her impressive four Grand Slam titles and her refreshingly open approach to discussing her mental health journey. But beyond her success on the court, Osaka has also made a name for herself in the business world through her skincare line and her numerous endorsement deals. This article will take a closer look at Naomi Osaka’s journey from a young player to a successful businesswoman and one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world.
Origin
Naomi Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan in 1997. Her mother is Japanese, and her father is from Haiti. She has an older sister, Mari, who is a former professional tennis player. Her family moved to New York when she was 3 years old.
Her father was inspired to teach his daughters how to play tennis by watching the Williams sisters compete at the 1999 French Open. Having little experience as a tennis player himself, he sought to emulate how Richard Williams trained his daughters to become two of the best players in the world, despite having never played the sport. In 2006, her family moved to Florida when she was eight or nine years old so that they would have better opportunities to train. She practiced on public courts during the day and was homeschooled at night.
By the time she was just 12 years old, Naomi was already competing in national tournaments. As she grew older, Naomi’s talent on the court continued to develop, and she began competing in international tournaments. She made her professional debut in 2013, and her first big breakthrough came in 2016, when she won her first WTA title at the Indian Wells Open. This was just the beginning, however, as Naomi quickly established herself as one of the top players in the world.
Tennis Career
Though she’s been playing professionally since 2013, Naomi first rose to fame in the tennis world in 2018 after she won her first Grand Slam at the US Open against tennis legend and her childhood hero 23-time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams. This was a historic win as Naomi became the first Japanese player to enter and win a Grand Slam tournament. She followed this up by winning the Australian Open in 2019, landing her at No. 1 in the world, and the only tennis player of Asian ethnicity to rank No. 1, solidifying her status as one of the top players in the world. Till this day, she’s won a total of 4 Grand Slam titles, twice at US Open, and twice at the Australian Open.
Mental Health Challenges
However, being a world champion did lay a lot of pressure on Naomi, and she has been dealing with depression since 2018. In May 2021, she refused to participate in press conferences during the French Open, and was subsequently fined USD 15000 and threatened with expulsion from the tournament. She withdrew from the event to deal with her mental health and well-being, and later on also withdrew from Wimbledon.
She attempted to come back for the Olympics but the pressure of returning to the limelight was a factor in her third round loss. In September at the US Open, she lost to Leylah Fernandez and in the process, threw her racket three times and received a code violation for firing a ball at the spectators. Afterwards, she announced she was taking an indefinite break from the sport.
Later in 2021, she shared with Victoria’s Secret that she is being helped by therapy, her dog, calming music, and slowing down. At the 2022 Indian Wells Open, a fan taunt unsettled Osaka to the point of tears, after which she had to seek therapy. She said the consistent therapy really helped and she is better prepared for incidents in the future.
Naomi has written an article back in 2021 “It’s O.K. Not to Be O.K.” where she explained her journey on battling mental health issues, which I think is worth everyone’s read.
Now 25, Osaka is taking another step towards her own happiness. On 11 Jan 2023, she announced that she was pregnant and expecting her first child with her boyfriend, rapper Cordae. The pregnancy will sideline her from all 2023 tennis tournaments, but she is excited to return to the sport in due time. “Can’t wait to get back on the court but here’s a little life update for 2023,” she wrote in the Instagram, saying she’ll be back for the 2024 Australian Open.
Building Wealth
According to Forbes, Naomi is ranked the highest paid female athlete in 2022 with a total of USD 51.1 million earnings including USD 1.1 million on-field and another USD 50 million off the field, ahead of tennis legend Serena Williams USD 41.3 million. She’s also ranked 19 among the world’s highest paid athletes.
On-Field Earnings
In order to quality for Grand Slam competitions, tennis players will need to participate in other smaller tournaments throughout the year and earn enough points. Those small tournaments also pay prizes to winners and participants. According to the WTA records, as of 2023 Naomi has accumulated USD 21 million prize money throughout her entire career.
Most of her career earnings come from winning her Grand Slam titles. For the 2018 US Open, a record USD 3.8 million was awarded to both the men’s and women’s singles champions, while in 2020, the prize money was reduced to a mere USD 3 million for the singles champions. The Australian Open prize is worth a little bit less, with the singles winners taking home AUD 4.1 million in 2019 and USD 2.13 million Australian dollars in 2021.
Endorsement Deals
Naomi has more than 20 corporate partners, making more than USD 50 million from brands including Nike, Mastercard and Louis Vuitton. If we only calculate athletes’ off-field earnings, that’s the fourth-best off-field total among the world’s top athletes, behind only Roger Federer, LeBron James and Tiger Woods—and ahead of names like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Tom Brady.
However, part of those endorsement earnings came from FTX the cryptocurrency firm who filed for bankruptcy in November, and is currently being sued in a USD 11 billion class-action lawsuit alongside Tom Brady and other stars. But stay relaxed as Naomi will earn a lot by endorsing well-known brands like Beats Electronics, Panasonic, PlayStation, Levi’s, Airbnb, Nissan, Shiseido, Tag Heuer, and more.
Businesses & Investments
KINLÒ
In September 2021, Naomi launched her own skincare line KINLÒ, which is all about protecting, repairing, and renewing melanated skin tones at an affordable price point. The line includes moisturizers, sunscreens, hydrating gels, and lip balms, among other products, and it became an even bigger hit after Naomi announced her exclusive partnership with Walmart in April 2022. “Offering KINLÒ products at Walmart is a huge step in bringing suncare awareness and accessibility to a national level.”, she said.
Despite growing up on sun-soaked tennis courts, Sun Protection Factor was never top-of-mind for Naomi Osaka because she, like many others, assumed her melanin-rich skin was immune to sun damage.
The idea came from her first visit to Australia where the she had never felt the urge to put on sunscreen until that moment, eventually she put on some sunscreen but had left a huge white residue on her body. She later found out most products on the market are either not tinted enough for melanated skin which often leave a white residue, or they are very drying, or in many cases they are both. So she went on to create products that offered great quality moisturizing ingredients and a functional tint that could be worn everyday whether it’s under your makeup or on bare skin.
Evolve
In 2022, Naomi left the IMG management company which she had been with since 2016 to co-found her own sports management agency Evolve, alongside her long-time agent Stuart Duguid. Good thing to mention is IMG was also the company which had once managed Roger Federer for several years back in the days, until Federer founded his own sports management agency Team 8 in 2013.
Evolve has already signed their first sports star – Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios. Evolve will now oversee the six-time ATP Tour winner’s brand partnerships, investments, and charitable endeavours, as well as pursuing opportunities for athlete-owned businesses.
Duguid has been a tennis agent since 2010 and has overseen a number of Osaka’s partnership deals, enabling the Japanese tennis star to become one of the highest-paid athletes in all sports. This deal looks to be a win-win on both sides as Nick Kyrgios is currently one of the most well-known upcoming Tennis stars, and has great marketable value.
Hana Kuma
In 2022, Naomi founded her production company Hana Kuma, in partnership with LeBron James’s SpringHill company. The company name “Hana Kuma” means “flower bear” in Japanese, and its goal is to product non-fiction content on real-life stories of coloured people. The first project under the Hana Kuma banner will be MINK!, an upcoming New York Times documentary about Patsy Mink, the first woman of color elected to US Congress.
Pickleball Team
In the sports space, Naomi has invested in an up-and-coming sport pickleball, and has introduced a new Major League Pickleball team – the Miami Pickleball Club alongside Nick Kyrgios. Pickleball is a sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and table tennis. It is typically played on a badminton-sized court with a net that is similar to a tennis net, but lower to the ground. The sport is played with a perforated plastic ball and wooden or composite paddles. Pickleball is often considered a more relaxed and less intense version of tennis, as it requires less movement and is less physically demanding.
Real Estate Investments
Naomi Osaka has invested a bit in real estates as well. In 2019, she bought a Beverly Hills property from Nick Jonas for USD 6.9 million, and another LA mansion for USD 6.3 million.
