Naomi Osaka has just become a proud mother of a baby girl. At the age of 25, this supreme athlete has accomplished more than one could dream of – winning four Grand Slam singles titles, getting to the #1 tennis rankings, launching her own skincare line, and the sweetest of all, claiming her new title as a mom.
As a rich tribute to her motherhood, we bring to you five interesting yet relatively unknown stories of a new mom, Naomi Osaka:
Why does Naomi Osaka use her mother’s last name?
As we know Naomi’s mother, Tamaki Osaka is from Japan, and her father, Leonard Francois is from Haiti. When Osaka was three, his father moved the family from Japan to the United States but always encouraged her to play under the Japanese flag and be closer to her Japanese roots.
This was also accentuated by the fact that USTA refused tennis funding to Osaka for not being an American citizen. But this was not the only reason for using an Osaka surname, as per Japanese law, a child born in Japan must take the name of the Japanese parent if one of the parents is from a foreign country.
All about Cordae and Naomi, the couple, who have just become parents
Naomi Osaka and Cordae have been romantically linked since 2019 when they attended an LA Clippers game for their first date together. At that point, they had kept quiet about their relationship. Cordae who is a Grammy-nominated rapper had just released his sophomore album, Bird’s Eye View, when Osaka praised him on social media stating, “Getting closer to someone and seeing how much love and dedication is put in their craft is truly inspiring.”
In 2020, he stayed in quarantine with her at the US Open, leaving all his work aside. Both Cordae and Naomi prefer to keep their relationship private with some occasional Instagram posts. Cordae loves Naomi’s cooking and they like to hit the gym together.
Why did Naomi Osaka use to affectionately call Kobe Bryant her ‘big bro’?
Naomi Osaka opened up about his friendship with Kobe Bryant, just after his tragic death, revealing that he was her biggest supporter and followed her tennis extensively, often messaging her with positive texts. Osaka and Bryant had met in June 2019, just six months before his untimely death.
Shortly after his death, Osaka paid a heartfelt tribute to Bryant, when she wrote, “Thank you for caring and checking up on me after my hard losses. Thank you for teaching me so much in the short time I’ve been lucky enough to have known you. Thank you for existing. You will forever be my big bro/mentor/inspiration. Love you.” (via Yahoo).
Naomi Osaka’s toughest opponent growing up
Naomi Osaka‘s elder sister, Mari Osaka now retired, has been an accomplished tennis player, and competed in four ITF finals since making her tour debut in 2014. Yes, we are talking about a fellow tennis pro in Osaka’s family, one year older than her. In their junior playing days, Mari used to beat her all the time in matches and give her 6-0 bagels till she was 15.
Naomi cited that her biggest motivation for aspiring as a player was to beat her elder sister. In a featured Netflix documentary on Naomi Osaka, her sister recalls the turning point of their sibling rivalry, “The day you caught up to me, something clicked. Each win builds a platform that we’ll use to make an impact, finding purpose on and off the court and cheering each other on.”
The amazing story of Naomi Osaka’s motherhood
Since her pregnancy in 2022, she has confidently pursued her priorities, putting her health and the health of her in everything she does. She has been also collaborating on pregnancy-safe skincare products.
Osaka has been practicing mindfulness and incorporating meditation into her daily life, which has also done wonders for her mental health and emotional wellness. She has also stayed physically active by doing low-impact exercises at the gym. Naomi Osaka is a true inspiration for all the sports moms out there.
