This archive report was first published on 11 October 2019.
On May 16, 2019, Naomi Osaka returned the ball to Slovak Dominika Cibulkova during their WTA Masters tournament tennis match in Rome at the Foro Italico.
Naomi Osaka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, has chosen Japanese citizenship ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, according to public broadcaster NHK. The decision was made to comply with Japanese law, which stipulates that a Japanese citizen with more than one nationality must choose one before turning 22 years old.
Osaka, who has a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, told NHK that she has completed the necessary administrative step to obtain Japanese citizenship. She expressed her desire to represent Japan at the Olympics, saying, "It gives me a special feeling to try to go to the Olympics to represent Japan."
Osaka added that she wants to aim for the gold medal, but is also worried about the high expectations that come with representing Japan. The young tennis sensation is a household name in Japan, where her every move is followed feverishly by local media.
Osaka has faced controversies over her dual heritage in a nation that is fairly racially homogeneous. However, attitudes among younger generations are changing, and Osaka's imperfect Japanese language skills have been seen as adding to her charm.
