In 2018, Naomi Osaka made history after she became the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam title. Her victory at the US Open over Serena Williams put her on the path to stardom. She quickly won her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open last year and rose in the rankings to become the first Asian player to be ranked as the world number one. Osaka will again be in the limelight after Netflix commissioned a documentary about her journey to this year’s Olympics.
Osaka will play at the 2020 Olympics
The documentary will record Osaka’s journey from last year’s US Open to her appearance at the Tokyo Olympics this year. The Japanese star has an interesting parental heritage. Osaka’s mother, Tamaki, is from Japan while her father Leonard Francois is from Haiti. The former world number one was born in Japan but her family moved to the United States when she was three years old. Osaka gave up her US citizenship last year in order to retain her Japanese citizenship as required by the country’s laws. This year’s Olympics will be held in Tokyo, and Naomi hopes to represent her country. Her multi-ethnic background and her decision to play for her birth country will be interesting facts for the Netflix biopic to explore.
It won’t be a traditional sports documentary
In her documentary, Osaka will give fans an up-close look at her preparations for this year’s Grand Slam tournaments as well as the Olympics. The documentary will be produced by Film 45 in association with Uninterrupted which is owned by basketball superstar Lebron James. The Japanese has promised fans that the documentary will be unique.“To be able to tell my story has been a rewarding experience. It won’t look like a traditional sports documentary, and I’m so excited to share it with everyone.”Oscar-nominated director Garret Bradley will direct the Netflix feature. No release date has been set for the sports documentary.
Camera crews followed Naomi Osaka during last month’s Australian Open. She had a disappointing run in Australia after she lost in the third round to Coco Gauff. She also played for Japan in last week’s Fed Cup qualifiers. Osaka was unable to help Japan qualify after the team lost to Spain in the best of three playoff tie. The Japanese will not appear at any more WTA tournaments this month. She will be back on the court for the American swing of the tour.
Naomi Osaka’s ranking and performance in 2020
Currently the world no.10, the Japanese played her last match on the 7th of February when she surrendered to Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-0 6-3 in the Rubber 1 in Fed Cup.
Naomi Osaka’s most significant accomplishment of this season was getting to the semi-finals in Brisbane.
Naomi Osaka |
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