Naomi Osaka continued to grow her 'Play with Naomi Osaka' tennis academy, which aims to bring more girls into sports.
The first tennis academy by the Japanese player was launched in Tokyo in 2022, and since then, the academy has expanded to Los Angeles and Haiti, where her father hails from. The academy aims to bring more girls into sports, including tennis.
The most recent academy was launched in Osaka, Japan, where the tennis star was born. The project also aims to partner with more grassroots organizations in order to bring more people to sports and empower local communities in an effort to grow the game. Speaking about the latest academy that she has launched, Osaka said:
"I’m so happy to be able to support the community there through Play Academy because Osaka has such a special place in my heart."
Play Academy’s mission is near and dear to Naomi, who grew up in Osaka until age 3. Born to a Japanese mother and Haitian-American father, Naomi recalled her mom taking her and her older sister Mari to play in Utsubo Park. That’s why Naomi felt a full-circle moment when she returned to Osaka in 2019 and won her first tournament on Japanese soil at the Japan Open.
Asked about the goal of the whole initiatiave, Osaka once again said:
"I hope that young girls will be afforded the resources and opportunity to follow their dreams and do whatever they want. The goal is simply to provide equal opportunity and where possible to inspire happiness."
Osaka also reflected on the stat that only 20 % of sports participans in her hometown of Osaka are girls:
"Those statistics are frightening and exactly why I started Play Academy. It’s important for girls to have sports and exercise opportunities for their general health and wellness; but also for mental well-being, social skills and learning skills like leadership and teamwork."
"We are lucky in tennis because our sport is almost equal with the men in terms of resources, but other women’s sports are still so far behind. I hope that over the years we can make progress and I want to tackle this issue at the grassroots level as well as the pros."
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