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Post by Admin on May 14, 2020 19:03:37 GMT
World No.10 Naomi Osaka has opened up about the crippling shyness she struggles with and how she is planning on changing her mentality going forward. Osaka may have not enjoyed the best start to the 2020 WTA season before it came to a grinding halt due to the coronavirus pandemic. Defending her Australian Open title, she lost in the third round to teenage sensation Cori Gauff. She then suffered a meltdown at the Fed Cup in February as she racked up 50 unforced errors in a torrid display against the world No.78, who claimed only a second Fed Cup singles win. But it appears the break has reinvigorated Osaka and she is looking forward to being the best person she can after surprising tennis fans with a number of uncharacteristic tweets. “I'm done being shy. It's really a waste of my time,” she wrote. “I could've shared so many ideas by now, I could've had convos with so many different people. “All the things I could've learned but no I'm over here actually putting my own limiter on myself.” She also reiterated her thoughts in an interview and how the break from tennis during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the constant media scrutiny, has helped her reflect. “For me, I have a lot of regrets before I go to sleep, and most of the regret is that I don't speak out about what I'm thinking,” she said in an interview with CNN Sport.
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Post by Admin on May 27, 2020 20:26:30 GMT
Naomi Osaka is now the highest-paid female athlete in history, reports Forbes. Osaka, 22, earned $37.4 million in the past 12 months from prize money and endorsements, which is $1.4 million more than Serena Williams made. With that number, Osaka has set an all-time record for what a female athlete has earned in a single year. Maria Sharapova previously held the record when she earned $29.7 million in 2015. Forbes also reports that this is the first time since 2016 that two women have made the rank of the 100 highest-paid athletes. In September 2o18, Osaka beat Williams in an emotional U.S. Open women's final: Williams received three code violations. Williams infamously fought chair umpire Carlos Ramos on the calls, leading to a tearful victory for Osaka. "It feels really emotional," she said then. "I feel happy and sad at the same time and I think this is the most I've ever cried." Williams hugged Osaka and later sent her the following text: "Hey, Naomi! It's Serena Williams. As I said on the court, I am so proud of you and I am truly sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing in sticking up for myself. But I had no idea the media would pit us against each other. I would love the chance to live that moment over again. I am, was, and will always be happy for you and supportive of you. I would never, ever want the light to shine away from another female, specifically another black female athlete. I can't wait for your future, and believe me I will always be watching as a big fan! I wish you only success today and in the future. Once again, I am so proud of you. All my love and your fan, Serena."
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Post by Admin on Jun 5, 2020 20:56:04 GMT
Count Naomi Osaka among the athletes who have no interest in sticking to sports. Osaka called out people who demand athletes only entertain, explaining some issues are human rights issues.
Osaka, 22, has been outspoken following the death of George Floyd. She’s tweeted or retweeted support for protestors, called out systemic racism and highlighted instances of police brutality. She’s also shared a few messages from critics who think she should focus on tennis.
As Osaka said, many of the issues she’s addressed are human rights issues. On top of that, she pointed out that people who work other jobs aren’t limited in what they can speak on. Osaka used the example of someone working at an IKEA store. She asked whether IKEA employees are only allowed to talk about the GRÖNLID (a type of sofa sold at IKEA).
Osaka was one of the many athletes to call out Fox News’ Laura Ingraham for her comments about Drew Brees. Ingraham defended Brees’ ability to speak out about NFL players kneeling. In 2018, Ingraham criticized LeBron James for mixing sports and politics, telling him to “shut up and dribble.”
Osaka is not the only tennis player to speak out on Floyd’s death, racial injustice and police brutality. Coco Gauff, 16, addressed spectators at a protest in Delray on Wednesday.
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Post by Admin on Jun 8, 2020 20:45:06 GMT
On May 25th, 2020, African-American George Floyd suffered a tragic death at the hands of a white police officer. When the news reached the people, it reignited the fight against racism. People in not just the United States but also in Japan have started protesting against racial discrimination. Japanese tennis player <a href="https://www.essentiallysports.com/tag/naomi-osaka/">Naomi Osaka</a> tweeted about this and was criticized by one of her fans. She responded to the criticism in a tweet which she later deleted. Naomi Osaka Responds As you can see in the above two pictures, a fan criticized Naomi Osaka for retweeting the ‘Black Lives Matter’ march in Osaka, Japan. Obviously, the Japanese star did not let the fan’s comment go unanswered so she replied in another tweet which was later deleted. She told the fan that she just reposted a tweet about the march in Osaka and that she is not asking people to go out and protest. She also said that people make their own decisions and to illustrate that she told the fan that she was going to block him. Since she deleted the tweet, she probably did not go through with it. Who is You People?" - Naomi Osaka Hits Back at a Fan on Instagram ...PIN IT Naomi Osaka has been responding to fans like this for a while now. While she has made it clear that she supports the cause, she hasn’t spoken about certain demonstrations turning violent. There have been a few cases of looting and property damage along with peaceful protests. And this has been criticized by a lot of people. John Isner and Rafael Nadal were some of the few big names that criticized how violent the protests have become. And Isner took it a step further by saying all the people involved in the protests should be arrested. Clearly, we are seeing many people raising their voices in support of the protests or to criticize them. And we can expect more to do so in the future.
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Post by Admin on Jul 27, 2020 19:21:19 GMT
Tennis champion Naomi Osaka now has an extra year to prepare for the postponed 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and she's giving fans an inside look at how she's doing it as part of Airbnb’s Olympic and Paralympic summer festival. Osaka, 22, is hosting her own Airbnb online experience with her trainer, Yutaka Nakamura, on Tuesday. During her session, fans will meet Osaka's trainer and learn how she's prepping. http://instagram.com/p/CDCxKmxpF7U "My trainer, Yutaka, and I will be hosting a workout for 10 guests," Osaka tells PEOPLE. "It’s modeled after workouts that I have been doing during my training block. Usually, I train one muscle group or area during a gym session but for the experience, we will be training the whole body and going through my warm-up and cool-down process." Fans, she says, can expect a little bit of "everything." Explains Osaka, "As a tennis player, there is no one muscle group that is more important than the other because it’s such a physical sport and we use our whole bodies." http://instagram.com/p/CCoHeLzpX5_ "I think like most people, I was bummed that we all couldn’t get together and compete in Japan, but there’s nothing more important than safety," Osaka tells PEOPLE. "In hindsight, we can all agree that it was the right decision. The Olympics is a time to celebrate the entire world coming together and I know when we all get through this, the games will be just that: a celebration of all that we have overcome in 2020." That being said, the tennis player — who will compete at the games for Japan — admits there have been some challenges to staying motivated. She's used to focusing her energy on a specific event or tournament with training, but this year there's been so much "uncertainty."
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