Legendary American tennis player Serena Williams plans to retire after the 2022 US Open. The manner she overcame obstacles on and off the court has motivated many aspiring players to pursue the sport, even though her accomplishments have set a standard for future generations. Among them is Naomi Osaka. The 24-year-old has widely mentioned the 23-time Grand Slam champion as her inspiration and is a passionate Serena Williams admirer.
Naomi Osaka is still competing on the tour even after not having a great year on the court in 2022. Since she withdrew from the French Open and skipped Wimbledon last year to focus on her mental health, she has come a long way.?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Naomi Osaka admires Serena Williams?
Osaka, who has two Grand Slam victories in New York, recently opened up in the US Open press conference about Serena Williams? being a legend not only in the sport but also in handling her family and business ventures.
Osaka said, ?I mean for me, I think in a very – like this is the most obvious part. But if you look at everyone that’s our skin color, clearly we followed her. I also think, like, business-wise she’s very into tech, so whoever follows that or tries to follow that, I think it will clearly be under her influence. Just overall, like culturally and style-wise, she was the first one to have her own line and stuff like that.?
Further, she talks about how she paved a way for the younger generation to fluently go forward. She said, ?There’s definitely been a lot of barriers that I’m sure she had to fight to break down. We can now easily go through that because of her. I don’t know. I’m pretty sure there’s a lot of things that she’s done that I don’t know about. But it will be interesting to see.? Serena has fought her way from being a black woman in the game and even grown her own clothing brand into a successful business venture.?
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Previous clashes between Serena Williams and Osaka?
The two last faced off at the 2021 Australian Open, where the current world no. 44 prevailed her way to her fourth Grand Slam victory. Serena and Osaka both faced severe difficulties on the tour. However, the Japanese star will be aiming to reclaim her form in the tournament while Serena hopes to depart on a good note.
Watch this story – ?When Mike Tyson supported Serena Williams for her US Open meltdown against Naomi Osaka
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Williams and Osaka have met four times, with three victories for Osaka. 2018 saw their first encounter in Miami, which Osaka won 6-3, 6-2. They then faced off in the US Open final. Osaka won her first Grand Slam with a score of 6-2, 6-4. They would clash twice more, with Osaka triumphing in the semifinals of the Australian Open in 2021, while Osaka won their final encounter in Toronto in 2019.
During her final performance at Flushing Meadows. Williams will be attempting to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.