Naomi Osaka is a household name after her win at this year's U.S. Open. She defeated her tennis idol, Serena Williams, after a slew of controversial penalties that nearly overshadowed the 20-year-old's historic victory. Osaka is now the first Japanese singles player to win a Grand Slam, the youngest player in the top 20 rankings for the sport, and she is $3.8 million richer, too. Osaka's rise to tennis greatness is yet another example of the power of representation, the importance of a religious work-ethic, and why humility and poise can go a long way.
To celebrate her victory, here are some more interesting facts about the tennis star that makes her so relatable even though she has risen to stardom at such lightning speed.
The Real Reason She Cried After The US Open
Not many can relate to what it must feel like to be thrust upon the world stage at such a young age, besting your childhood hero, and winning at something that you've spent your whole life dreaming about. But one thing we can all probably relate to is crying when people would otherwise think we should be grinning from ear to ear. I'm guilty of the happy but nervous cry, and so is Naomi by her own admission. She told reporters that she was really just overwhelmed with emotion at the U.S. Open, and not crying from frustration with Serena Williams. She says:
"I feel like there was just a lot of emotions...I couldn't really pinpoint it at the time, I just felt very overwhelmed."
And for anyone who thinks we should feel sorry for the way she won her first Grand Slam title, think again. She told reporters that she has no regrets about the way things played out at the U.S. Open, and that she didn't need to "savor the moment" anymore than she did. She revealed:
"I'm grateful that people care or sympathize, but I don't really think there was anything to be sad about...I don't feel like I would've liked to savor the moment more--I think I do things my own way and everyone is different in their own way so I don't really have any regrets."
She's Biracial And Proud
The 20-year-old Haitian-Japanese has come a long way from her birthplace of Osaka, Japan. The daughter of a Japanese mother and Haitian-American father, the Osaka family had to contend with not only the lack of diversity in Japan, but her own family's disapproval of the interracial couple. The family eventually moved to the US when Naomi was just three years old, initially living in New York before moving to South Florida when Naomi was 8 or 9 years old. This makes her a dual citizen, but when she turned pro in 2013, her father decided to register her with the Japanese Tennis Association so that she could represent her country of birth.
If you needed any proof that she is proud of her Haitian heritage, she shut reporters down when she gracefully gathered them all the way together when discussing her biracial roots.
"Well, my dad is Haitian so I grew up in a Haitian household in New York, and I grew up with my grandma, and my mom is Japanese so I grew up with Japanese culture too. And if you're saying American, because I grew up in America, I have that too. So I hope I answered your question."
The best part of all of this is the potential to help change Japan's perceived reverence for racial homogeneity.
She Secured A Major Bag With Adidas
action sports / Shutterstock.com
There is no doubt that her biracial identity can go a long way in shining a light on just how diverse the world really is. Another brand that is hoping to capitalize on the increasing trend of embracing such diversity is Adidas. It was recently announced that Adidas has offered Osaka a deal, which is rumored to be in the $10 million dollar range, and is the largest deal they have ever made with a female tennis player to date.
Not only are they banking on Osaka's appeal as a world class athlete, Adidas knows that Osaka's diverse background and universal appeal will mean more money in the bank for them, too. Go get the bag, Naomi!
Doesn't Own A Car Despite Major Deal With Nissan
When you win a Grand Slam on the world stage, it is almost inevitable that new opportunities will be on the horizon. Your late teens and early twenties are usually a time for self-discovery, enjoying life without a ton of responsibility, learning how to drive and how to navigate life as an official adult. But for the 20-year-old, tennis has been Naomi's number one priority. She's been a tennis pro for the last five years when most young women are concerned about boys and their first car.
It's likely that Osaka will no longer have to worry about the car part, because it was recently announced that the tennis star will become a brand ambassador for Nissan. Her dreams have seemingly begun to come true, and for the tennis player, she is honored to represent Nissan due to it's Japanese origins. She says:
"Growing up, my dad drove a Nissan, so being able to be a brand ambassador now, it feels like I've come full circle."
"This week has been a dream come to life, and I'm so honored to represent Japan and Nissan on the world stage. I was drawn to partner with Nissan because of its strong Japanese DNA and global competitive spirit. The brand is always challenging expectations, and I look forward to bringing its vision for driving excitement to new audiences around the world."
She Crushes On Michael B. Jordan Just Like The Rest Of Us
Anyone who is anyone eventually gets the chance to sit down with Ellen DeGeneres for her daytime talk show. Naomi, who is typically demure in her delivery, played along with Ellen when she asked about some of her faves. She mentioned that Beyonce is her favorite singer and that her celebrity crush just happens to be Michael B. Jordan. Who couldn't relate to that?
And in true Ellen fashion, the talk show host took it one step further and reached out to Jordan on Naomi's behalf. In response, Michael B Jordan recorded the sweetest video that left all of us swooning. He says that Naomi is "an amazing example" that encourages young kids around the world to work hard in pursuit of their dreams. In the video, Jordan says that Osaka is now on his radar, too. He said:
"Just know that all the hard work, the blood, sweat, and tears that you put into this sport, that you put into your journey, people are finally being able to see — and that's a big thing to be proud of...Keep being great, everybody's watching now — me too."
We are all watching now, Naomi: no pressure!
Featured image by action sports / Shutterstock.com
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A Goddard College graduate, who earned an MFA from Pratt Institute and was awarded an honorary doctorate from Marymount Manhattan College, Mahogany offers unapologetic realness with a side of grace and empowerment. "I started touring locally. I started creating chat books so that those poems will go in the hands of the people who were sitting in the rooms," she shared.
"And then I started facilitating poetry workshops, so I used my chat books as curriculum. And that, in turn, allowed me to further invest in my art and show the community and people who were hiring me that it wasn't just a one-off, that it's not just, you know, a fly by night—that I am invested in this art as much as I am invested in your community, in your children's learning, in our growth."
Mahogany has a special way of moving audiences, and her superpower sparks shifts in perspective, post-performance introspection, and strengthening of community bonds, especially among Black women. (One can undeniably recognize her gift for arousal of the spirit and mind merely from her listening to her insights from the other side of a Google Hangout call. I can only imagine the soul-stirring, top-tier sensory encounter when watching her perform in person.)
In this chat with xoNecole, Mahogany reflects on sustaining a creative career, the aftermath of writing a banned book, and using poetry for both healing, community-building, and activism.
Anthony Artis
xoNecole: What are three key things that have laid the foundation for a sustainable creative career for you?
Mahogany L Browne: What has helped me is that I'm willing to go in being an expert at knowing poetry and knowing the way in which art can change the landscape of our lives, not just as a poet, but also as a poetry facilitator. How you move through classes, those things are mastered, right? So when I go into another space that's maybe tech-heavy, I don't mind learning and being, you know, a student of the wonder of how we can make this magic, work together.
Two, you’ve got to know how to pivot. Sometimes we say, ‘Alright, this is what my life is going to be. I'm going to be a New York Times best-selling author. I'm going to, you know, have an album that's Grammy-nominated. And then, say you get dropped from your record label. That doesn't mean you can't make an album anymore. You can also still create an album that can be submitted to the Grammys. So, what does a pivot look like as an artist who doesn't have an institution behind them? Pivot being a student of the wonder.
Relationships also really help. How do I serve the community? And in turn, that tells me how the community can show up. For me, I have long-standing ties with a community that will outlast my one life. So, what does it mean to create space where these relationships can develop, can be nurtured, can be rooted, can be cultivated? Creating space—it happens through relationships.
xoN: With today’s economic challenges, what does your current creative process look like, and what are you working on?
MB: I’m always thinking five years ahead. I just reviewed the pages for two children’s books and recently released a YA novel. I’m drafting an adult fiction manuscript now.
Anything I create is founded with the root of poetry, but it can exist in captions. It can exist in commercials. It can exist as a musical. So that's where I’m at now.
xoN: You started performing "Black Girl Magic" in 2013, had an acclaimed performance of it via PBS and the work went on to viral success shortly after. Talk more about the inspiration. And what do you think about the continued relevance more than a decade later?
MB: I wrote it as a rally cry for the mothers who had been keeping themselves truly in harm's way by, you know, being a part of the community right after the death of their child or their loved one. They are usually mothers of victims of police brutality—and just seeing how they showed up in these community spaces, they are devout to the cause but obviously still grieving.
"I wanted this poem to be just a space of reclamation, of joy and of you, of your light, of your shine, of your brilliance, in any which way in which you fashion. Every room you enter is the room you deserve to be in. What does it mean to have a poem like that that exists?"
And the first time I did the poem, the Weeping that occurred, right? It was like this blood-letting of sorts. The next time I performed it, I'm moved to tears because I'm seeing how it's affecting other women who have just been waiting to hear, ‘You belong. You deserve. You are good. We see you. Thank you, despite everything that they said to make you regret being born in this beautiful brown, dark-skinned, light-skinned, but Black body.’
Black women are the backbone—period. Point blank. And so, that that poem became a necessity, not just to the fortitude of Black women in the community, but like you know, in service of healing the Black women.
xoN: One of your books was banned at a school in Boston, and it was later reinstated due to parental and activist support. What was that experience like?
MB: Well, I think it happened because they were racist. That's it. Point blank. The reversal of it was empowering, right? I realized, oh, I thought we just had to sit here and be on a banned book list. But no, parents are actually the leaders of this charge.
So to see that, the parents said, ‘Nah, we're not gonna let you take this book out of my baby’s school just because it's a Black kid on the front saying, ‘Woke’ and they're talking about being a global citizen. They're talking about accountability. They're talking about accessibility. They're talking about allyship, and you don't want them to have compassion or empathy or have even an understanding, right? So no, we rebuke that, and we want this book here anyway.’ To see that happen in that way. I was, like, reaffirmed. Absolutely.
xoN: You recently organized the Black Girl Magic Ball at the Lincoln Center in New York. Honorees included author and entrepreneur Rachel Cargle and National Black Theater CEO Sade Lythcott. What impact did it have and what expanded legacy do you hope to leave with your creative works?
MB: I was really interested in not celebrating just the book, but celebrating the community that made the book possible. And so I gave out five awards to women doing that thing, like, what does it mean to be a Black girl in this world?
I just thought it was gonna be an amazing time. Everybody's gonna dress up—we're gonna celebrate each other. And boom, I then realized that it responded to like a gaping hole. There was a missing thing for Black girls of all walks of life, all ages, right?
"It's very intergenerational. That was intentional to come together and celebrate just being us."
You have all these instances where just being you is either the butt of a joke or it's diminished and not worthy of a specific title in these larger institutions. So what does it mean to just to be loved up on and celebrated?
It felt like a self-care project at first. You know, for the first couple of years, folks were coming and they were getting that sisterhood. They were getting that tribe work that they were missing in their everyday lives.
I love the Black Girl Magic Ball because we got us. If I go out with a bang, they'll remember that Mahogany worked her a** off to make sure all the Black girls everywhere knew that she was the light. We are the blueprint.
For more information on Mahogany L. Browne, her work, and her future projects, visit her website or follow her on IG @mobrowne.
Featured image by Anthony Artis
