“You’ve Come a Long Way“: Naomi Osaka Cherishes Her Rollercoaster Ride as She Plunges Into a New Venture

Naomi Osaka is undoubtedly one of the most celebrated sports personalities in the world today. Despite facing several setbacks in recent years, the Japanese international is still the second highest-earning tennis player; Thanks to her massive endorsement deals she has encased with the help of her agency IMG. However, recently, she along with her long-time agent Stuart Duguid left IMG to start their own representation agency Evolve.

Yesterday, the young star took to her Instagram, making the announcement in the most creative way. Instead of directly breaking the news, she opted to recall the rollercoaster career she has had so far.

Naomi Osaka recalls the ups and downs of her career

Yesterday, the 11th of May, Naomi Osaka took to her Instagram to announce her new venture. The announcement post had two videos of Osaka’s media interactions she had at some points in her career. Both the videos had the four-time champion talking about her goals in life and what she wanted to be while growing up.

The first video was one of the press conferences Osaka had at the 2021 Australian Open. Going back two years, Osaka asserted that her goal was to become the first Japanese to win a slam.

She said, “When I was younger, like two years ago or something, I felt like my goal was to make history to like somehow at least have one thing that I was able to do right. So, I would say that I wanted to be the first Japanese person to win a slam. I think that was my goal. Then there were more things to do.”

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The next video was of Osaka in her initial days on the tour. In the video, Osaka talked about what she would have been if not for a tennis player. To everyone’s surprise, she wanted to become an agent in her initial days as well.

She said, “If I wasn’t playing tennis, I would try to be like a marine biologist, maybe. But I heard that you have to be really good at math. So, that’s not really. Maybe I would try to be like a physio or something because you get to be around. I just like sports. So, maybe like an agent in the end.” 

Osaka’s new venture with Stuart Duguid

Following her withdrawal from Rome with an Achilles’ injury, Naomi Osaka is giving herself the resting time to prepare for the upcoming Roland Garros. Despite being away from the court, she remains focused on her goals.

As per reports, the agency will manage Osaka’s business interests. Additionally, it will also manage the interests of the other clients that it will sign. As reported by the New York Times, the reason behind Osaka introducing Evolve is to grow her business portfolio to $150 million in the coming years.

However, she doesn’t want to do it by signing more deals. As reported by Sportico, Osaka and Stuart will hold equity stakes in the company. Notably, the company doesn’t have any outside investors yet.

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Considering the majestic aura of Naomi Osaka, it would truly be a delight to see some top players signing up with her agency soon.