‘Breaking Down Barriers’ – Naomi Osaka Reveals the Reason Behind Launching Play Academy Initiative in Japan

Naomi Osaka is one of the most prominent players on the tour today. With four grand slams to her name, the former World No. 1 has touched the heights that remain untouched by a majority of players. Considering her aura, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that she is also one of the most loved players on the tour today.

Apart from tennis, the Japanese star also indulges in working toward social issues. One of them is empowering young girls to come forward in sports. Taking her first step toward the issue, in 2020, Osaka launched the Play Academy Initiative. Recently, while conversing with Dazed magazine, she opened up about the reason behind coming up with the initiative.

Why did Naomi Osaka launch the Play Academy Initiative?

Coming from an Asian country like Japan, Osaka has gone through the grind of making a mark in a sport being largely dominated by Europeans and Americans. As per Osaka, it was the common trend of Asian countries of girls dropping out of sports; earlier than boys that prompted her to take up the initiative.

Also read- Why Was Novak Djokovic Cleared to Defend Title at French Open 2022?

Interacting with the magazine, she said, “It started in Tokyo, where I read about the huge disparity in girls drop-ping out of sports earlier than boys.”

Looking at the career of Osaka, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that she is nothing short of her male counterparts. Infact, digging deeper, one can analyze that she is much ahead of a majority of them. Apart from her, a number of other female tennis players are statistically better than their male counterparts.

Taking her time to analyze these stats, Osaka took the step to provide equal opportunities to girls. Elaborating further on the initiative, Osaka said, “We focus on breaking down barriers for young girls in sport and levelling the playing field.”

Osaka launched the Play Academy Initiative in 2020 along with Nike and Laureus Sport. With the rapidly growing trend, the initiative today stands as a grant provider for multiple grassroots organizations focusing on girls in sports. Launched in Tokyo in 2020, the initiative, today works in Los Angeles and Haiti. Earlier this month, the initiative took its next step by coming up in the Japanese city of Osaka.

Watch this story- The Greatest Comebacks in Tennis

While Osaka has been making a mark on the social front, that hasn’t been the case on the tennis front. Continuing her struggle with form, she recently suffered a first-round loss at the French Open. However, tennis fans are hopeful of a strong comeback by the Japanese star soon.