Naomi Osaka: The tennis star who has been neglected by everyone

In the footsteps of his victory in the United States, Osaka flourished as a star. She won $ 3.8 million by winning the US Open and has accumulated more than $ 7 million in prize money in her career. She is now ranked No. 7 in the world and has contracts with the Yonex racket company,

Nissin Food Products
Co.

, Citizen Watch Co. and Wowow Inc., a broadcasting company. It is also sponsored by Adidas and will announce Thursday an undisclosed automotive company partnership.

But his trip to the summit took place largely out of public view, its potential difficult to identify.

Osaka, 20, was born in Osaka, Japan. She and her family moved to the United States at the age of 3 and lived on Long Island until 2006 before moving to Florida. She knows the Japanese language, but generally answers Japanese questions in English. His mother, Tamaki Osaka, comes from Japan. His father, Leonard Francois, is from Haiti.

"We made the decision that Naomi would represent Japan from an early age," Osaka's parents said in an email. "She was born in Osaka and raised in a family of Japanese and Haitian culture. Quite simply, Naomi and her sister Mari always felt Japanese, so that was our only reason for being. It was never a financially motivated decision and we were never influenced by a national federation. "

Osaka started representing Japan when she was 10 years old. She has mostly skipped junior tournaments and played dozens of small events at the International Tennis Federation. The ITF Womens circuit is rarely seen on television and gives players a limited public profile. Although Osaka had a sufficient ranking to participate in junior Grand Slam tournaments, she refused to register them.

She was 16 when the USTA offered her a place in her program. Brendan McIntyre, USTA spokesman, said the training program of his organization included many weeks with José Higueras, then director of the USTA, and with Pat Etcheberry, who has worked with Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. and Justine Henin. The USTA does not pay the players that they develop.

"We spoke to her and offered her very good services," said Ola Malmqvist, USTA Women's Tennis Officer. "We had it in the Boca [Raton] training center when we were there ".

The USTA had a better chance when Osaka was younger, but did not see much potential in her, according to familiar people. This is common practice in tennis: it is almost impossible to predict whether children have the physical skills and talent to become competitive professionals.

Until the last years, Francis taught Osaka to play tennis. He took her with her sister to the public courts. They then played at Harold Solomon Tennis Academy and then at the ProWorld Tennis Academy in Delray Beach. Osaka's mother worked in an office in Miami. She drove almost an hour from Boca and worked from 9 to 5. She would then come home and cook.

François was, at best, a recreational player without any knowledge of the technique. So he studied what Serena Williams' father, Richard, had done while coaching his own daughter and copied this approach. François became obsessed with videos and instructional books, and deadly swings (Osaka, who is 5 feet 11 inches, is among the most powerful hitters in the game).

At the age of 18, Osaka and his father started practicing at the Evert Tennis Academy, five minutes from home. After beginners and professional players who trained in the morning, Osaka and his father showed up when the courts were empty and trained from noon to 2 pm. At that time, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and other talents also practiced. Chris Evert said that Osaka did not stand out.

"She had a lot of raw talent and she hit a ton, but she was not moving and she was making a lot of mistakes," Evert said.

At the same time, Osaka got his first professional coach, Australian David Taylor. Last December, Osaka moved to his current coach, Sascha Bajin.

Since training with Taylor and now Bajin, the Osaka game has improved faster than expected. His movement, once a handicap, was a force at the Open, largely thanks to his speed and his improved footwork. Rick Macci is a longtime instructor who worked with the Williams Sisters when they were young. He watched Saturday's final and was stunned by Osaka's performance.

"Mentally, I think she's the best tennis player I've seen since Serena," said Macci. "Even the last game, she did not blink."

Although tennis is an individual sport, there is a lot of pride in a player's country, especially for events such as the Fed Cup and the Olympics. Shinji Yoshikawa, the coach of the JTA Women's National Team, was at the US Open to watch the Osaka Finals, but not in her box in the stands.

"She chose us," said Mari Sakamoto, a representative of the JTA. "All JTA staff are very enthusiastic. We are very proud to have Naomi as a Japanese player. "