Naomi Osaka has been named as one of several high-profile public figures being sued as part of a lawsuit against the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.
The accusation is that public figures who invested in the failed company, of which Osaka is one, used their celebrity status to promote a business model that was doomed to failure, bringing the perception of credibility to a company that had none.
The BBC has reported that over one million people and businesses could be owed money following the collapse of FTX last week.
“Part of the scheme employed by the FTX Entities involved utilizing some of the biggest names in sports and entertainment — like these Defendants — to raise funds and drive American consumers to invest … pouring billions of dollars into the deceptive FTX platform to keep the whole scheme afloat,” the lawsuit said.
Four-time Grand Slam champion, Osaka, took an equity stake in FTX back in March of this year, citing her aim to bring more women to join the platform.
"We have seen the statistics about how few women are part of crypto by comparison, which kind of mirrors the inequality we see in other financial markets", Osaka said at the time.
Osaka has yet to make any public statement of the issue. The Japanese superstar is currently on the tennis off-season, after a year in which she played only 23 matches and lost nine of those.
The once rapidly rising star of the WTA has endured a woeful 18 months, plummeting in the rankings and seeing her form evaporate.
It is a worrying time for fans of Osaka, with many pundits claiming they are seeing alarming signs of burnout and a lack of motivation.
It would be one of the most heartening stories of the 2023 season if Naomi Osaka can regain some form and fire for the game. Tennis is that much brighter with Osaka in it.
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