Naomi Osaka was not a fan of saying ‘come on’ during her early years as it drew attention onto her

Naomi Osaka was not a fan of saying ‘come on’ during her early years as it drew attention onto her
Naomi Osaka

Reigning US Open champion, Naomi Osaka has risen to fame in a short span of time in the tennis world. Owning her fiercely competitive nature and influential personality, the Japanese tennis star has won three Grand Slams in her growing career so far.

After witnessing the all-time great Serena Williams in action (in her prime), Naomi’s father became the driving force in her life, as she picked up the tennis racquet for the first time.

Osaka had inhibitions using the words ‘come on’ during matches

Naomi Osaka

As a 10-year-old, Osaka hated to utter the words ‘come on’ during her learning years, the Japanese revealed in an interview with Vogue.

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Osaka’s father enjoyed mouthing those words but she felt that it used to ‘draw attention’ to her which she did not really enjoy.

“I hated it. I thought, if I’m so loud, then I will draw attention to myself,” the reigning US Open champion said.

Although having inhibitions earlier, the Japanese eventually got used to mouthing those words.

“I felt like people would stare at me. But I don’t know. I guess I sort of got used to it,” said the Japanese

On the tour, Osaka had a fruitful 2020

Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka

Naomi finished the season as the WTA World No.3, behind Australian Ash Barty and Romanian Simona Halep, in that order.

Osaka even shot up to the summit in the Forbes magazine as she got picked as the top-earning female athlete this year. Naomi toppled the likes of Serena Williams and Russian Maria Sharapova in that list.

In terms of the sport, Osaka, claimed the US Open this year after winning it first in 2018. That year, the Japanese ousted her childhood idol, Serena Williams in the title clash at the Flushing Meadows.

The negatives included her underwhelming performance at the opening Grand Slam of 2020, losing in straight sets in the third round to American teen tennis sensation Coco Gauff.

The World No.3 missed out on the French Open due to injury concerns.

The reigning US Open champion will be looking forward to atone for her poor run in the Melbourne Slam this year, in the upcoming 2021 Australian Open starting February 8th.

Also Read: “Giving them the support they need,” Naomi Osaka leads the noble initiative of ‘Play Academy’