By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday January 30, 2021
Naomi Osaka has a healthy respect for the legends of women’s tennis. And she’s not about to jump the gun and call herself the face of women’s tennis, even though she did become the highest-paid female athlete in history last year and will probably do it again this year.
Here’s what Osaka replied when asked how she grapples with being seen as the face of women’s tennis these days.
"Honestly I don't feel that way," she said. "I don't know, there's so many interesting new people. I think I'm one of the new people. I don't know. As long as Serena's here, I think she's the face of women's tennis."
The three-time major champion was speaking to reporters ahead of her appearance at the Gippsland Trophy in Melbourne.
On the other side of the spectrum, Osaka talked about 19-year-old Iga Swiatek and how impressed she was with what the Pole was able to do last year at Roland Garros.
Osaka, who has developed a friendship with Swiatek, told a story about how she had dinner with Swiatek at the Australian Open last year and played a role in convincing her not to think about college just yet.
“Definitely I would say I was really inspired by Iga,” Osaka said. “I thought it was really amazing how she was able to, like, be super focused in all her matches. I was watching the finals. I thought it was really nice to watch because I ate dinner with her last year here. She was talking about how she might go to college. I was telling her, like, she's really good, and I think she's going to do really well. So maybe don't try to divert your energy to college just yet. I'm glad she was able to win a Grand Slam so fast. Hopefully she'll, like, continue to grow, which I know she will.”
Osaka, who is seeded second at the Gippsland Trophy this week, will face either Alizé Cornet or Ajla Tomljanovic in the second round (after a bye).
Swiatek, seeded sixth, will fade either Kaja Juvan or Wang Yafan in the second round, after a bye.