Currently referred to as Black Magic Girl, Naomi Osaka makes history for herself and the world of tennis by becoming the highest paid tennis player ever, topping her icon Serena Williams. .
According to Forbes, the 22 year old made $37 million in earnings in the past year, more than any other female athlete in history. Topping Serena Williams was not an easy feat for Naomi, Serena has been the world’s highest-paid female athlete for the past four years and has collected almost $300 million during her career from endorsers. Naomi Osaka has been ranked No.1 by the Women’s Tennis Association, and is the first player of Haitian descent to hold the top ranking in singles. She has won five titles on the WTA Tour, including two titles at both the Grand Slam and Premier Mandatory levels.
In 2014, Naomi came to limelight, a month before her 16th birthday. In March 2018, She won her first title at Indian Wells and 0ne year after she became the first Japanese player to win a Slam and the first Asian tennis player ever to be ranked No.1 in the world. Naomi held dual citizenship growing up, but chose to represent Japan ahead of the Tokyo Summer Olympics, which has been postponed to 2021.
Becoming the highest-paid athlete in 12months came through prize money and endorsements, $1.4 million more than Serena earned, setting an all-time earnings record for a female athlete in a single year. Another tennis player, Maria Sharapova, previously held the record with $29.7 million in 2015.