Naomi Osaka will kick off the defense of her Australian Open title this week. The Japanese star won the title last year, defeating Petra Kvitova in the final. She also attained the number one ranking after winning the title. She is now back in Australia, seeking to retain the title.
Osaka’s boyfriend promotes his album
As Osaka plays in Australia, her boyfriend, rapper YBN Cordae, will be touring the United States promoting his most recent album, The Lost Boy. He shared some pictures of the tour on his Instagram. The rapper, whose real name is Cordae Duston, has been dating Osaka over the last one year. The two met for the first time at a Los Angeles Clipper’s basketball game. At the time, Cordae was not familiar with Osaka’s tennis achievements despite her famous win over Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open. The rapper has said he watches more tennis matches after they started dating.
Cordae and Osaka supportive of each other
At the US Open last year, Cordae attended the tournament to support his girlfriend. Osaka is also a huge fan of her boyfriend’s music and has listed his song “The Lost Boy” as one of her favorite. The two have been supportive of each other’s careers. While some fans have suggested that the relationship could be a distraction for Osaka, it has not been the case. While she did struggle at the major Grand Slams in Europe and the US Open, she bounced back on the Asian swing of the tour. The former world number one won the Toray Pacific Open as well as the China Open. In China, she defeated current world number one, Ashleigh Barty, in the final. She also qualified for the WTA Finals in Shenzhen but withdrew after she suffered an injury.
This year, she has played at the Brisbane International where she advanced to the semifinals and lost to Karolina Pliskova. She began the defense of her Australian title on Monday, defeating Marie Bouzkova 6-2 6-4 in the first round. She will face Zheng Saisai in the second round. One of the main concerns at the Australian Open has been the air quality at the tournament. The recent wildfires in the country have caused a decrease in the air quality which has been a major concern for players. The tournament organizers have been taking daily measurements of the air quality to protect the players from respiratory diseases.
Osaka at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2020
Now ranked no.3, the Japanese has a 4-1 win-loss record in 2020. Osaka is now playing at the Australian Open where she toppled Marie Bouzkova 6-2 6-4.
Naomi Osaka will play Zheng in the 2nd round. The head to head is 1-0 for Osaka.
The last time that they fought against each other, Osaka won 6-4 7-63 in the qualifications in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) in April 2016.
Osaka won 5 titles in her career: all of them conquered on hard courts. (See the list of her titles)
