The 23-year-old’s exploits both on and off the court will now be honored in a very special way, with a Japanese magazine set to publish a cartoon based on her life. Naomi Osaka has inspired a ‘manga’ in her native country, which will appear in the 28 December issue of the magazine ‘Nakayoshi’.
The manga work is called ‘Unrivaled Naomi Tenka-ichi’, and will be overseen by her sister and fellow tennis player Mari Osaka. The idea has been spearheaded by twin sisters Jitsuna Kamikita and Kizuna Kamikita - popularly known as ‘Futago Kamikita’ - who are best known for the manga versions of the ‘Pretty Cure’ franchise.
This is really exciting for both my sister and me: Naomi Osaka on being the inspiration for a ‘manga’
Speaking through her Twitter account, the US Open champion claimed she was ‘really excited’ by the honor given that she has been a lifelong manga fan.
Naomi Osaka was a very public advocate of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement during her remarkable run on the American hardcourts this year. She emerged as the runner-up at the Western & Southern Open and the champion at the US Open, but she received as much applause for her social justice campaign as for her on-court success.
Osaka had even refused to participate in the Western & Southern Open amid the fallout of the George Floyd incident that had gripped the United States. The 23-year-old followed that up by appearing for each of her seven matches at the US Open wearing a mask that sported the name of a racial injustice victim.
Osaka’s exploits off the court have only increased her popularity both within and without the tennis community. She is the highest-paid female athlete in the world right now, and seems set to scale further heights in the years to come.
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