Naomi Osaka becomes highest-earning female athlete in 2020-21
By Benson | Published: May 28, 2021 03:51 PM2021-05-28T15:51:55+5:302021-05-28T15:53:31+5:30
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Tennis world No.2 Naomi Osaka of Japan ended the 2020-21 financial year as the highest-earning female athlete in the world.
Naomi's total earnings amounted to $55.2 million, of which just $5.2 million was from prize money, the highest payday ever for a female athlete, according to sports business magazine Sportico.
Naomi won the 2020 US Open and the 2021 Australian Open to take her total Grand Slam wins to four. Additionally, she has repeatedly spoken publicly in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, sporting names of victims of police brutality on the masks she wore throughout the US Open.
Apart from this, Naomi also partnered with two dozen brands that range from HR software (Workday) to watches (Tag Heuer).
The Japanese star said that she won't be interacting with the media in the French Open this year.
"I'm writing this to say that I'm not going to do any press during Roland Garros. I've often felt that people have no regard for athletes' mental health and this rings true whenever I see a press conference or partake in one," she has written on Twitter.
"We're often sat there and asked questions that we've been asked multiple times before or asked questions that bring doubt into our minds and I am not going to subject myself to people who doubt me," said Naomi.
She was named one of the 2020 Sports Illustrated Sportspersons of the Year for her activism largely as part of her US Open championship run, and was also included on Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in both 2019 and 2020.
On the court, Osaka has an aggressive playing style with a powerful serve that can reach 201 kilometres per hour (125 mph).
At the 2018 US Open and the 2019 Australian Open, Osaka won her first two Grand Slam singles titles in back-to-back Grand Slam tournaments, and is the first player to achieve this feat since Jennifer Capriati in 2001. She also became the first woman to win successive Grand Slam singles titles since Serena Williams in 2015.
