After lifting her third Grand Slam title at the age of 22 in New York Naomi Osaka’s first photo wasn’t just about her, it was about the NBA icon who inspires her.
Holding the Flushing Meadows trophy, Osaka was wearing the number eight L.A Lakers jersey in a tribute to Kobe Bryant. The former Basketball star who tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash earlier this year along with his 13-year-old daughter. The caption with the photo Osaka posted on Twitter read ‘I wore this jersey every day after my matches. I truly think it gave me strength. Always.’
Following Bryant’s death, Osaka described him as her ‘mentor and big brother.’ The two had known each other on a personal level and had met multiple times. In August 2019 Bryant hailed the three-time grand slam champion after saying it is ‘very rare to find an athlete at that age to be so trusting of her skill.’
‘I feel like at this point there are certain things that I do that I hope can make him proud,” Osaka said during her press conference.
“It’s, like, keeping his legacy alive for me. I think it’s amazing how one person can inspire so many people. Everyone has a really great story about him just being kind, spreading warmth.”
Bryant was one of the world’s most famous NBA players throughout the past two decades and achieved a series of accolades. Including being named the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player and two-time NBA Finals MVP. A two-time Olympic gold medallist, he was also selected to play in 18 All Star Games.
Osaka herself has also been inspiring many throughout her US Open campaign with her vocal support for social justice. At the start of each match she would enter wearing a mask bearing a different name of somebody who had been a victim of racial profiling. In the final she had the name Tamir Rice, who was a 12-year-old black boy killed by police in 2014. Osaka says the objective of her mask-wearing was to inspire others to look into the names of those victims and learn more.
“I feel like for me I learn more through experiences. Everyone sort of thinks they know, or I actually don’t want to know how they’re feeling or how they felt during the process. For me, I feel like sharing stories and hearing people’s experiences is very valuable,” she said.
The drive to speak so openly about social justice is also a matter close to the hearts of those close to Osaka, who has a Japanese mother and Haitian father but grew up in America.
“I’ve read a lot into Haitian history. My dad always talks about that,” said Osaka.
“For me, my boyfriend’s really like into reading a lot, so he’s been passing me books.
“I try not to get most of my information from the news. I try to form my own opinion, sort of.”
The activism of the 22-year-old has earned her praise from around the world, as well as former tennis greats. Billie Jean King, who is one the founder of the WTA Tour that campaigned for equal prize money, says Osaka is on course to become of the all-time greats when it comes to athlete activists.
“It has been more than 50 years since athletes like Muhammad Ali, John Carlos and Tommie Smith and the Original 9 of women’s tennis all stood up and used their sport, their voices and their actions to change humanity,” Reuters quotes King as saying.
“The baton has been passed and Naomi has accepted it.”
Osaka is the first Asian player in history to have won three singles Grand Slam titles.
