Naomi Osaka: Her Journey to Finding Her Power and Her Voice

A deeply reported, revealing biography of tennis phenomenon and activist Naomi Osaka, telling the untold story behind her Grand Slam-winning career, her headline-making advocacy for racial justice and mental health, and the challenges of a life in the international spotlight.

Naomi Osaka is everywhere, but how did she get there?

Most tennis fans were introduced to Naomi Osaka as they watched her win the 2018 US Open final in an unforgettably controversial and dramatic victory over her idol, Serena Williams.

Her extraordinary talent propelled her to the top of her sport and onto the front page of newspapers and magazines worldwide, but it was her unique blend of awe-striking power and disarming vulnerability that fascinated millions as she became a champion like none before her.

Osaka has captivated the tennis world-- and gained attention across the culture-- not only by winning three more Grand Slams but by finding her voice on a range of topics that have made her a touchstone far beyond sports, positioned at the crossroads of myriad social issues.

Even as she became the highest-paid female athlete in history and one of the most discussed of the past decade, until now, the story of the Haitian-Japanese-American Osaka family’s journey across the world to follow their tennis dreams has remained little known. It is a story unlike any other, and Ben Rothenberg’s biography not only shows where Osaka came from but also where she’s going as she returns to competitive tennis after a year on maternity leave. Through a riveting exploration of the ways Osaka has changed the game on and off the court, Rothenberg details the incredible impact Osaka has had in the arenas of sports, media, business, social justice, and mental health.

Ben Rothenberg is a sportswriter from Washington, DC. He has covered Naomi Osaka around the world since she emerged onto the WTA Tour in 2014, both in print for The New York Times and on his podcast, No Challenges Remaining. His work has focused on the intersections of social and cultural issues in tennis. He is a senior editor for Racquet magazine, and has appeared frequently as a tennis expert on international networks such as CNN, the BBC, and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. With an eye for finding stories and dogged determination as a reporter, Rothenberg has become by many metrics the world’s leading tennis journalist, including on Twitter, where he has more than 130,000 followers.