Naomi Osaka
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Naomi Osaka (Japanese pronunciation: [oːsaka naomi]; born October 16, 1997) is a Japanese professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the WTA for 25 weeks starting in January 2019, the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles. Osaka has won seven career singles titles, including four majors: two each at the Australian Open and the US Open. She is the first Japanese player to win a major singles title. Born in Japan to a Haitian-American father and a Japanese mother, Osaka has lived and trained in the United States since age three. She came to prominence at age 16 when she defeated former US Open champion Samantha Stosur in her WTA Tour debut at the 2014 Stanford Classic. Two years later, she reached her first WTA final at the 2016 Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo and entered the top 50 of the WTA rankings. Osaka broke into the upper echelon of women's tennis in 2018, winning her first Tour title at the Indian Wells Open, then defeating Serena Williams in the final of the US Open. After winning the Australian Open in early 2019, she reached the world No. 1 ranking for the first time. Following two more major titles, in 2021, Osaka suffered from depression and other issues, which led to a publicly scrutinized retirement from the French Open and withdrawal from Wimbledon. She took maternity leave in 2023, returning to competition in 2024. Osaka is one of the world's most marketable athletes. In 2020, she ranked eighth among athletes in endorsement income and had the highest-ever annual income of any female athlete. Osaka is also recognized as an activist, having showed support for the Black Lives Matter protests. She was named one of the 2020 Sports Illustrated Sportspersons of the Year for her activism, particularly during her US Open championship run, and was included on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Osaka was the 2021 Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she became the first tennis player to light the Olympic cauldron during the opening ceremony. On the court, Osaka has an aggressive playing style with a powerful serve that can reach 201 kilometers per hour (125 mph).