Naomi Osaka was 15 years old when she finally beat her older sister Mari in tennis.
And as she tells Ben Rosenberg in Naomi OSAKA: Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice (Dutton), it was pretty amazing.
“I think this is the best win I've ever had,” she says.
When Naomi finally defeated Mari and wiped “that obnoxious smile from her face,” it became an “inflection point” for Osaka.
“Losing to Mali shaped my competitiveness,” she added. “As she was growing up, we pushed each other. She pushed me more than I pushed her because I kept losing.”
Naomi Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan to a Haitian-American father and a Japanese mother, and has lived in the United States since the age of three.
Inspired by Richard Williams, who taught tennis to his daughters Venus and Serena, Naomi's father Leonard and Naomi and Mari followed suit.
Ten years later, Osaka has become known for both her four Grand Slam titles and her notable episodes of anxiety and depression.
In May 2021, she withdrew from the French Open, withdrew from Wimbledon, and as the reigning champion, withdrew early from the US Open.
Citing mental health issues, she called it quits for the season. “Dark clouds were gathering in… and I couldn't do anything about it,” she tells Rothenberg.
Her decision to quit drew criticism, but it was nothing new.
After the killing of George Floyd in 2020, Osaka at the U.S. Open made a statement about victims of police violence, including the mask of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old woman who was shot and killed by police in Louisville in March 2020. He wore a black mask with his name written on it.
Afterwards, Osaka said she intended to raise “awareness.”
“It worked,” Rothenberg wrote. “One Japanese viewer said she Googled 'Breonna Taylor' thinking she was an exclusive new fashion designer.
“When she read Taylor's story, she was shocked.”
Another hiatus, or “cool hiatus,” came when she gave birth to her daughter in July 2023.
Osaka returned to the Grand Slam this month at the Australian Open, but was eliminated in the first round.
“It remains to be seen how Naomi will respond to future successes and challenges,” Rothenberg wrote. “She could double down, she could walk away.
“Her legacy as a legend is already safe in the eyes of the public no matter what. It can be even harder to think of yourself as worthy.”
