Tamaki Osaka, Naomi Osaka’s mom, wrote a letter to the Yonex president in Japan asking for Yonex’s support when Naomi Osaka was 10 years old. This led to Yonex having their U.S. team take a look a Naomi Osaka which resulted in a relationship which is still ongoing between Yonex and the now 21-year-old Naomi Osaka.
Osaka’s story isn’t the only one of its kind. In fact, Yonex has plenty of other stars such as Nick Kyrgios, Caroline Garcia and more.
Yonex’s strategy
Yonex is a Japanese brand which uses a mix of technology, aesthetics as well as junior connections in order to entice young players and keep them hooked. If you take a look at Yonex’s players. 16 of Yonex’s players are in the ATP top 100 while 10 of them are in the WTP top 50. When you take a look at the juniors, 30 percent of ATP as well as 50 percent of the WTA top 20 players who are 21 and under use Yonex.
Alyssa Yoneyama said that signing so many young players is all a part of the process for Yonex. She elaborated by saying that it is a combination of players who are looking for high-quality performance as well as something different which results in them being able to foster relationships with these players as juniors. From Osaka to Kyrgios, Yonex was the first competitive racket they played with as juniors.
It should come as no surprise that the reason many professionals swear by Yonex is because one the key elements for a tennis player is the racket. The tennis racket is an integral part of every tennis player’s kit.
Naomi Osaka
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