“She’s like an alpinist going after higher mountains”: Grandfather Tetsuo Osaka
Naomi Osaka won her 4th grand slam title defeating Jennifer Brady in the final at Australian Open 2021. With the win, she cemented her spot as the front-runner of women’s tennis currently.
Recently, Naomi Osaka’s grandfather spoke to the Japanese daily The Mainichi, where he revealed that the 23-year-old had declared her intention of winning the 2021 Australian Open well before the tournament started.
Tetsuo Osaka, her grandfather stated that Naomi had told her mother a month before the tournament was scheduled to start – that she was “going to win” the Australian Open.
“When you’ve looked at her for over 10 years, you come to know when she’s not in form and when she’s speaking with confidence,” Tetsuo said.
“It’s like mountain climbing. She’s like an alpinist going after higher mountains, and I think she’ll be able to keep going for about 10 years.”
I’d like her to open a tennis school for children in Nemuro: Tetsuo Osaka
Additionally, Tetsuo also said that his granddaughter had told her mother she would win the gold medal at the Olympics this year.
Naomi is also considered a role model off-court. When asked about the same, he called his granddaughter a ‘good person’, while also giving credit to her upbringing and education.
“It might be thanks to her grandfather’s good education, or it might be a case of a trait skipping a generation, but she’s gotten better at speaking. You’ve got to be a good person. Just because they’re strong, a person shouldn’t become arrogant.”
“I’d like her to open a tennis school for children in Nemuro,” Tetsuo said. “To do that, the coronavirus has to end first.”
As of now, Naomi Osaka has been nominated for the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award, in recognition of not just her tennis but also her work in promoting social justice.
On the same, her grandfather said: “It’s an honour to once again be nominated for a Laureus award by the world’s media. For me, this is special because Laureus sees the big picture, not just sport on the court or the pitch, but how it can help young people around the world.“
Also read: “Winning the French Open during the pandemic was good for me”: Iga Swiatek
Lakshya Chopra
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