“I want to leave some sort of legacy,” Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka has recently said in an interview and what could be a greater legacy than getting a Marvel superhero named after her. 'Naomi' — a Marvel superhero character — is modeled after the 22-year-old world number three. It is a new promotional superhero character for Japanese watch manufacturer Citizen Watch. Naomi Osaka is the brand ambassador for the watch company.
Designed by Marvel, which is known for its hugely popular creation of characters like Iron Man, Captain America, Spiderman, and The Avengers, among others, Osaka unveiled the character saying, “It's like a dream to have become my favourite Marvel superhero!! I've loved it since I saw it! I hope everyone likes it."
Osaka herself took to Twitter to share the picture of the character 'Naomi' with the caption: “Marvel-ous”:
Key Takeaways:
- Naomi Osaka gets a Marvel superhero character named after her. The character name is 'Naomi'
- Osaka unveiled the character saying, “It's like a dream to have become my favourite Marvel superhero!! I've loved it since I saw it! I hope everyone likes it.”
- Osaka is representing Japan in Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Naomi became Japan’s first Grand Slam singles champion in last year’s US Open final.
Osaka is representing Japan in Tokyo Olympics in 2020. In September this year, she won the Pan Pacific Open final and became first Japanese to win so since Kimiko Date’s historic win in 1995. On her return, she defeated world number 41 Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-3 in the final, an easy task for the regaining champion. Osaka secured her first two Grand Slams at the US and Australian Open since her last outing. Since then she has improved her brilliant form and came out triumphant.
READ: How Naomi Osaka Rose To The Top From World No.72 In A Year’s Time
Past achievements
Naomi became Japan’s first Grand Slam singles champion – man or woman – after thrashing her idol, Serena Williams, in last year’s US Open final. She went toe-to-toe with the 23-time Grand Slam champion and defeated her in the infamous 2018 US Open final.
Earlier this year, realising that she had robbed Naomi Osaka a chance to celebrate her maiden title win, Serena felt guilty of being unfair to Osaka and wrote a heartfelt letter apologising to her. In her essay published in the US magazine Harpers Bazaar, Serena recalled, “When Naomi’s response came through, tears rolled down my face. ‘People can misunderstand anger for strength because they can’t differentiate between the two,’ she said graciously. ‘No one has stood up for themselves the way you have and you need to continue trailblazing.’”
With this win, she becomes first Japanese to win Pan Pacific Open since Kimiko Date’s historic win in 1995.
Responding to the letter the 21-year-old Japanese player responded with a beautiful message. She applauded the seven-time Wimbledon champion for her bravery and praised the manner in which Serena stood for herself.
Naomi has been playing professional tennis since 2013. Her major breakthrough came when she became an international sensation after beating Angelique Kerber in the first round of the US Open in 2017. In addition to defeating Kerber, Naomi has won matches over other long-time tennis greats, including Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep. She is now eyeing gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
READ: How Naomi Osaka Rose To The Top From World No.72 In A Year’s Time
Feature Image Credit: Naomi Osaka/Twitter
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