Learn all about the parents of tennis star Naomi Osaka
Know everything you need to know about the parents of Naomi Osaka, the newly appointed brand ambassador of fashion brand Victoria’s Secret. Osaka is one of the most marketable female athletes in the world.
Osaka took to Instagram to announce that she will be joining the brand as an ambassador. Naomi joins several top names as am ambassador for the brand and there are other endorsement deals she has taken up.
The Japanese star, however, has had a lot of questions regarding her parents and their nationalities, and here is the answer to it all.
Naomi’s family is Haitian and Japanese. Naomi’s parents are Leonard Francois, who hails from Haiti, and Tamaki Osaka is from Japan. Naomi identifies as Black and Asian, but, despite growing up in the US for a portion of her life growing up, says she doesn’t identify as American.
“I don’t necessarily feel like I’m American. I wouldn’t know what that feels like.”
During her interview in 2018, she said:
“Japanese culture? I love everything about it…And Haiti, if you’ve ever met a Haitian person, they are really positive, and literally if you’re friends with them, then they will do anything for you. That’s something that is a really good trait, and I’m really happy that my grandparents and my dad’s side of the family is like that.”
Naomi credits her mom for motivating her and encouraging her to create her own lane and embrace her upbringing.
Tamaki met Leonard when he was visiting Hokkaido as a college student. The couple kept their relationship a secret from Tamaki’s parents for years, and then when she was in her 20s, her father wanted to arrange a marriage for her.
The New York Times reported in 2018, “The truth then spilled out: Tamaki was already seeing someone—a foreigner who also happened to be Black. Her father erupted in outrage, excoriating her for bringing disgrace on the family.”
The couple ended up moving to Osaka—where Naomi was born. The family then relocated from Japan to Long Island when Naomi was 3 to live with Leonard’s parents.
Osaka began her professional career in 2012 at the age of 14. The Japanese player won her first match on the WTA main tour in Stanford in 2014.
Osaka has won four Grand Slam titles. The first one came at the US Open in 2018, when she stunned Serena Williams in the final. She then followed up by winning the Australian Open in 2019 and picked up a third by winning the US Open for a second time in 2020.
The Japanese star most recently triumphed at the 2021 Australian Open, where she defeated Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the final. She has won seven WTA titles in all.
Osaka reached the World No 1 ranking for the first time on January 28, 2019. She has spent a total of 25 weeks at the top spot.
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Osaka had the honour of lighting the Olympic flame in Tokyo at the opening ceremony and then played in the singles event. She reached the third round but was then upset by Marketa Vondrousova.
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