Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka, ever since her debut on the tour, steadily progressed into a top player. The 24-year-old, in her nascent career, has already achieved the remarkable feat of winning four Grand Slam titles. However, the Japanese prodigy has not been in great form lately. After her defeat against Amanda Anisimova in the first round of the French Open, she was forced to miss Wimbledon by an injury to her Achilles.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Having recovered from the injury, she plans to return to action soon. Her comeback tournament will be the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic. Recently, Osaka upgraded her equipment, particularly her racquets, which were designed by her sister, Mari Osaka.
The Osaka family joined hands to design the new Yonex racquet Naomi will use in the upcoming American swing.
Osaka family designs new racquet
Osaka will take the court in San Jose with her new Yonex Ezone racquet. The racquet will have a custom-made design about the childhood memory of Osaka, her mother Tamaki, and sister Mari. In their childhood, Tamaki visualized her daughters as dragons, representing great power, good luck, and strength. Mari drew the dragons and completed the design with spider lilies, as they symbolize strength and beauty.
“My sister and I have always talked about designing a racquet, and to see it come to life is really special. The design is so detailed and unique.” Osaka said.
Read more: ‘Whole Different Person Now Lol’ – Naomi Osaka Shares Her Self Improvement Effort
The aesthetic design will also feature in the Osaka pro series bag, which she will use to carry the racquets.
Naomi Osaka to face Qinwen Zheng in her first match
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Osaka is all set to return to action. Her next match is only a few hours away now. The Japanese will take on Qinwen Zheng from China who is in a good form this year. Earlier, Zheng made it to the fourth round of the French Open 2022.
Further, the 19-year-old also made it to the third round of the Wimbledon Championships 2022, losing to the eventual champion, Elena Rybakina.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Watch this story: When Mike Tyson supported Serena Williams for her US Open meltdown against Naomi Osaka
While it would have been an easy match for Osaka if she was in form, given her recent struggles, it would be interesting to see how well she fares against the challenge of her Chinese opponent.