Why does Naomi Osaka play for Japan?
NAOMI Osaka has proven herself to be a great tennis champion. The Japanese phenomenon is getting ready to represent her country in the upcoming 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Osaka was born in Chuo-ku, Japan in 1997. Osaka moved to the United States with her family when she was three years old. She was raised mostly in the United States between Florida and New York. Even though Osaka had an American citizenship, her parents decided to have her and her sister represent Japan, a decision made when they were still young. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2018, Osakas parents said, "We made the decision that Naomi would represent Japan at an early age." The article pointed out that the US Tennis Association attempted to recruit Osaka when she was 16 but she was already committed to the Japanese Tennis Association. Osaka, who was reportedly overlooked by everyone, found the Japanese Association to be more supportive. Her parents stated: "She was born in Osaka and was brought up in a household of Japanese and Haitian culture.  Quite simply, Naomi and her sister Mari have always felt Japanese so that was our only rationale. It was never a financially motivated decision nor were we ever swayed either way by any national federation." Osaka was born on October 16, 1997 in Japan. She is a Japanese professional tennis player who has been ranked number one in the world by the Womens Tennis Association (WTA). She is the first Asian tennis player to hold the top ranking in singles. The four-time Grand Slam singles champion has won the Australian Open (2019, 2021) and US Open (2018, 2020) twice. Osaka made it to the third round of the French Open three times and the Wimbledon third round twice. Her mother, Tamaki Osaka is from Japan and her father, Leonard Franois is from Haiti. She has an older sister, Mari who is a former professional tennis player. The parents decided to give their daughters the mothers last name to try to make life in Japan easier, according to Biography.com. Franois served as Osakas coach - leading her to remarkable success. In 2019, Osaka gave up her American citizenship so she could compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics representing the Japanese flag. Additionally, Japans Nationality Act requires dual citizens to commit to a nationality by the age of 22. In 2017, Osaka tweeted, "I never know what to do when someone asks me where I'm from." She continued, I just said [Florida], because saying Japan starts an unnecessary conversation." Osaka admitted to USA Today, When I go to Japan people are confused. From my name, they don't expect to see a Black girl."