Tennis’ next batch of girl power siblings could be the Osakas.
At the Miami Open in March 2018, Naomi Osaka faced off against Serena Williams. It was the first round of the tournament, the two went head to head and Osaka won.
It was a precursor to the U.S. Open victory that Osaka would achieve a mere five months later. Naomi Osaka is rapidly being compared as the next big thing in tennis during her ascension.
However, the two have more in common as they are only half of the family tennis dynamic.
There is a Venus to Serena and also a Mari to Naomi.
Naomi and Mari Osaka have been playing tennis since childhood. Although she doesn’t have any grand slam wins under her belt like her younger sister, Mari is also a professional tennis player.
Her singles career record is 143-113 and her current ranking is 289. Although flip-flopped in age, it hearkens back to when Venus Williams was the more famous of the two.
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Eventually, Serena caught up and became a global icon for the sport.
Mari made her debut in 2014, the year after Naomi went pro. The two sisters were born in Osaka, Japan and grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where they trained. The Williams sisters were born and raised in Southern California before relocating to South Florida.
As Naomi continues to rise up the tennis ranks it will be interesting to watch if Mari will improve in the Women’s Tennis Association. Because of the Williams sisters, dynasties are part of the DNA of tennis.
Only time will tell if the Haitian-Japanese sisters representing Japan will jointly ascend to the same greatness.
