2020 has been a disruptive year for many people around the globe because of the coronavirus pandemic. The negative health and economic effects of the virus have forced different industries to alter their normal routines. In tennis, the WTA and the ATP had to cancel several tournaments in March after the World Health Organization declared that the coronavirus was a global epidemic. Unfortunately, a majority of tennis players witnessed stagnation in the progress of their careers because of the unforeseen state of affairs. However, Naomi Osaka is among the few players who seem to have had success on and off the court despite having limited playing time.
Osaka had a slow start to the season in January
The 23-year-old played four tournaments in 2020, and she had a strong finish to her season after a disappointing start. Osaka reached the semifinals at the Brisbane International Open in January before suffering a disappointing third-round exit at the Australian Open where she lost to Coco Gauff. Unluckily, the tennis season came to a halt in March because of the coronavirus pandemic. Once the season resumed in July, the WTA revised its ranking system to compensate for the disruption to its 52-week schedule. The new ranking criteria would consider tournaments played from March 2019 to December 2020, which allowed Osaka to maintain her world number three ranking.
Forbes magazine named Osaka the highest paid female athlete in 2020
Osaka returned to the court in fine form when the season restarted. She reached the final at the Western & Southern Open and went on to win her third Grand Slam title at the US Open. Unfortunately, the 23-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in her final match that prevented her from playing at the French Open and eventually ended her season. Nevertheless, tennis fans have praised Osaka for her performances on the court in 2020. Additionally, the Japanese star had some significant achievements off the court.
In May, Forbes magazine revealed that Osaka was the highest paid female athlete in the world. The US Open champion earned $37.4 million in prize money and endorsements in the 12 months between June 2019 and June 2020. Despite her commercial success, Osaka chose to advocate for an end to police brutality after the murder of George Floyd. The 23-year-old has also used her social media platforms to support the Black Lives Matter movement. After the shooting of Jacob Blake in August, Osaka temporarily withdrew from her semifinal match at the Western & Southern Open to protest the continued use of excessive police force on African Americans. She continued her activism at the US Open by wearing seven different masks that had the names of police brutality victims. Although 2020 has been a difficult year, Osaka seems to have improved her tennis game over the past eleven months, and she found her voice and expressed herself on the issues she cares about.
Naomi Osaka in 2020
At the moment ranked no.3, Naomi played her last match on the 12th of September when she defeated Victoria Azarenka 1-6 6-3 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open to win her 6th career title.
At the moment, this season Osaka has an overall 16-3 win-loss record. Naomi conquered 1 title at the U.S. Open. Naomi was the finalist in New York.
