‘She inspires me to be real’ Surfer Igarashi Considers Naomi Osaka as his Idol


‘She inspires me to be real’ Surfer Igarashi Considers Naomi Osaka as his Idol

Naomi Osaka and Kanoa Igarashi

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has been an inspiration for the entire world. She has inspired not just men but also women to stand up and chase their dreams. She has always given an exceptional performance which left her fans surprised. Naomi has not just won titles but also won hearts.

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Although this season the player did not have good luck- since the start of the new season, she did not claim any title. Her last tournament was the Australian Open 2022 where she got knocked out in the third round by Amanda Anisimova with a score of 4-6,6-3,7-6. Ahead of this, she played at the WTA Melbourne Summer Set tournament where she won the quarter-finals by defeating Andrea Petkovic with a score of 6-1,7-5 but she lost the semifinals to Veronika Kudermetova.

Kanoa Igarashi Speaks on Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka

Kanoa Igarashi is a Japanese professional competitive surfer. He was the youngest rookie on the World Surf League Championship Tour in 2006 and had collected more Round One wins than any other surfer. He also finished 2nd place at the Pipeline event, and 20th place overall the same year. His greatest career performance was at the 2019 WSL CT where he won the Corona Bali Protected event and was placed 6th place overall that year.

Recently Kanoa wore a jersey with Naomi’s name written on it to honor her, at the heat 1. He posted this on his Instagram handle to show his respect for the young star. He said that it was a proud moment for him to wear the jersey and represent Japan alongside Osaka.

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“It was an honor to represent @naomiosaka yesterday in my round 1 heat. She inspires me to be real. In today’s day in age, athletes are judged not only inside our arena but more so outside of our competition habitat. That can really affect the way we perceive ourselves to the world, but she is honest and speaks on important matters on and off the court. I’m proud to represent Japan with you,” Kanoa wrote in the caption.

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