Factbox on Japan’s Naomi Osaka, who beat American Jennifer Brady 6-4, 6-3 in the Australian Open final to win her fourth Grand Slam title on Saturday.
Born: October 16, 1997 in Osaka, Japan
Age: 23
Grand Slam titles: 4 (Australian Open 2019, 2021; US Open 2018, 2020)
EARLY LIFE
* Born to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, Osaka grew up idolising 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams.
* Moved to New York when she was three years old and turned professional in 2013 aged 15.
* Played in the main draw of a WTA event for the first time at Stanford in 2014. Beat Sam Stosur in the first round before losing to Andrea Petkovic.
CAREER TO DATE
* Made her Grand Slam debut as a qualifier at the Australian Open in 2016, beating Elina Svitolina in the second round before losing to Victoria Azarenka.
* Cracked the top 100 in the world for the first time in April 2016 and the top 50 later in the year.
* Named 2016 WTA “Newcomer of the Year” after making third-round appearances at three Grand Slams and reaching her first WTA final.
* Won her first WTA title in March 2018 in Indian Wells, beating Maria Sharapova, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep along the way.
* Beat Serena Williams in the 2018 US Open final to claim her maiden Grand Slam title and finished the year ranked fifth in the world.
* Beat Petra Kvitova in the 2019 Australian Open final to become the first player since Jennifer Capriati in 2001 to win the next Grand Slam after her maiden major.
* Beat Azarenka to win her second US Open title in 2020. Osaka turned up for each of her seven matches wearing a face mask carrying the name of a Black American to highlight racial injustice in the US.
* Beat Brady to win her second Australian Open title and fourth Grand Slam crown, extending her win streak to 21 matches.
Source: Read Full Article