Naomi Osaka Opens Up About Venus Williams' Influence On Her Tennis Career
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Many WTA players have been inspired by Venus Williams and her legendary career. Naomi Osaka has revealed the American is the reason she began playing tennis.
Venus was among the four players awarded wild cards for the 2025 Indian Wells Open. However, at an event in Denmark, she announced that the wild card announcement was not true, creating confusion.
The older of the legendary Williams sisters intends to return eventually, saying a few months ago that he is not done with tennis yet. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, now 44, has not retired because of her love for the sport.
That dedication to the sport, her achievements, how she revolutionized the women's game with her playing style and fought successfully for equal prize money at all the Grand Slams make Williams an iconic sporting figure.
Speaking to CNN, Osaka revealed she was among the players that Williams influenced and thinks the American probably does not realize how many people she continues to inspire.
"She’s probably the reason why I started playing. It makes me really excited to go to the tournament and see her, and I feel like she probably doesn’t know how many people she’s inspired because even she inspired me – and through me, there’s probably other kids that are inspired. So it keeps the legacy going."
Despite the wild card confusion, Venus and her sister Serena have a much better relationship with the tournament in Indian Wells than in the past. Both women boycotted the tournament for 14 years because of racial abuse from the crowd.
Thankfully, Venus and Serena eventually felt comfortable enough to return. That allowed the decent fans who did not and would not idiotically abuse the sisters to watch them before they are both retired. Serena stepped away from the sport after the 2022 US Open.
Osaka is set to make her first appearance since the 2025 Australian Open in Indian Wells. She produced great tennis during the season's opening months but was disrupted by an abdominal injury.
The four-time Grand Slam champion reached her first WTA final in almost three years at the ASB Classic in Auckland. Despite winning the opening set against Clara Tauson, Osaka retired because of an abdominal injury.
It seemed like Osaka could have her best Grand Slam run since winning the 2021 Australian Open at this year's iteration of the tournament in Melbourne after beating Caroline Garcia and Karolina Muchova in the opening two rounds.
Sadly, Osaka's abdominal injury struck again in the third round against Belinda Bencic, the recent 2025 Abu Dhabi Open champion. She retired from that match after a thrilling opening set that the Swiss won on a tiebreak.
Hopefully, the former WTA world No. 1 returns without any issues at the Indian Wells Open. All tournaments are better with a superstar like her involved, and she showed signs of her past brilliance in the season's opening month.
If Osaka reaches that level once again during March's Sunshine Double at the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open and avoids further injuries, she could do some serious damage at those tournaments.
