Things might not have gone completely the way Naomi Osaka had dreamed or imagined they would after winning her first U.S. Open Women’s Singles championship, the first Japanese or Haitian player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, but she’s now receiving far more financial gains than she might have ever expected, so soon, at such a young age.
Her defeat of Serena Williams, who has previously won 23 Grand Slam titles including six U.S. Opens, to take this year’s Open title last weekend in Flushing Meadows, Queens has already begun to pay off.
The young tennis star, her mother Japanese, her father Haitian, has scored a major endorsement deal with Adidas, the largest sports footwear, clothing and accessories designer and manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest one in the United States. When her current four-year contract with the athletic company expires at the end of the year, estimated to be less than $200,000 per year, her new deal, the richest ever offered to a female athlete by Adidas, will make her the brand’s highest-paid female athlete. The deal is estimated to be in the range of $10 million annually. Having a mother who is Japanese and a father who is Haitian-American contributes to Osaka’s multiethnic identity.
Osaka, turning 21 next month, was born in Japan and grew up largely in the United States, moving here when she was 3. She has also signed on as a brand ambassador for Nissan, the auto manufacturer. Her deal with Citizen Watch was signed right before the Open, but provided a hefty bonus for the win.
“My dad drove a Nissan,” recalled Osaka about her childhood at a recent contract signing event at Nissan’s Yokohama headquarters.
Osaka is currently advancing through the early rounds of the Pan Pacific Open, an annual outdoor hardcourt tennis tournament held in Tokyo, Japan, her first event after defeating Williams 6-2 and 6-4 in their U.S. Open match approximately two weeks ago, receiving $3.8 million in prize money.
