CELEBRITY

Barbie Honors Tennis Superstar Naomi Osaka

Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC

Only 21-years old and holding two Grand Slam Titles, Naomi Osaka, is the face of the future of women in sports, and now, with the help of Barbie, the young tennis pro is empowering women more than ever. 

The 21-year-old won the 2018 US Open followed by not one, but TWO Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open to become the first ever Asian to hold the number one position in the tennis world. Osaka’s mother is Japanese and her father is from Haiti. The two have been full of support for their daughter, who is proud of her heritage and her ability to be seen as an influential figure in the female world to young children and adults. Barbie thought it was time for this gal to be honored and at such great timing!

Naomi Osaka took to Twitter last week to announce the new debut of her very own Barbie.

https://twitter.com/Naomi_Osaka_/status/1103717042161475584/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1103717042161475584&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fedition.cnn.com%2F2019%2F03%2F08%2Ftennis%2Fnaomi-osaka-barbie-kristina-vogel-tessa-virtue-spt-intl%2Findex.html

Osaka used her social media accounts to add: “Recently a lot of parents have been coming up to me and telling me that their kids look up to me, those words literally blew me away. I was honestly so shocked and felt this huge responsibility because I remember how important my role models are.”
“Fast forward a few days and I’m here at Indian Wells, I see all these kids that look so happy to see me and they ask for pictures and autographs … Honestly I wanted to cry because my heart feels so full in these moments and I realize that it isn’t just about tennis, it’s about inspiring the next generation.”

Celebrating their 60th anniversary, Barbie will debut the Naomi Osaka doll this year along with dolls of other leading females, including ice dancer Tessa Virtue, sports journalist Melodie Robison, and former cyclist Kristina Vogel.

We can’t wait to see more of the positive influence from women leading in the industry and the figures of respect that Barbie will be releasing to fuel the creative fires in young girls across the world!

Follow Naomi Osaka on Twitter.