Naomi Osaka was not only the top-earning Japanese athlete in 2021,but also one of the highest-paid sportspersons on the planet before she retired. In fact, she’s ranked #8 richest athlete by Forbes. The magazine estimates that her total payout last year was a whopping $60 million, which also makes her the highest-paid female athlete in the world.
One thing that her critics often point out is that less than 10% of that sum came from tennis – $5.1 million were her on-court earnings in 2021. The remaining $54.9 million that ended up in her piggy bank last year came from brand deals.
How is Osaka Making Money?
Naomi Osaka became the highest-paid female athlete thanks to the brand deals she signed with big-name companies such as Nike. In fact, the deal with the American clothing company was what played the key role in making her the richest female sportsperson on the planet.
After being sponsored by Adidas for four years, Osaka inked a lucrative deal with Nike in 2019. At the time, Osaka was at the top of her form, having just won the 2019 Australian Open, ranking #1 in the WTA Rankings. Knowing all this, it’s no surprise that Nike decided to offer her $10 million a year. Other companies jumped on the bandwagon soon afterward, including Nissan, Shiseido, and so on. When she got those offers, she was winning WTA titles left, right, and center.
Her form has since dropped, but Osaka has managed to stay on the advertising radar of big-name companies. Evidence of this is that in 2021, she got an endorsement deal with the French luxury goods company Louis Vuitton, as well as one with the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Tag Hauer.
The question is whether those brands will be willing to continue to do business with her if she doesn’t improve on the tennis court? As of January 2022, Osaka is sitting in the #14 position in the WTA list, which is her worst ranking since 2017.
Osaka Coming Off a Very Turbulent Year
The year 2021 wasn’t vintage by any chance for Osaka. It did start very well with a title at the Australian Open, which was her fourth Grand Slam win of her career. However, everything went downhill from there for her.
First, we saw her losing in the quarterfinal of the Miami Open, thus dropping from the #1 position in the WTA Rankings. She was supposed to reclaim the top spot by doing well at the French Open, but she decided to skip the Parisian Grand Slam citing mental health issues as the reason. For the same reason, Osaka missed the Wimbledon but then decided to make a comeback at the Tokyo Olympics. Held in her native Japan, the Olympic Games were supposed to lift her back to the tennis stardom. She was the #1 favorite to win the gold medal, but surprisingly got knocked out of the tournament in Round 3. Her next chance came in the form of the 2021 US Open, where she was the defending champion. Unfortunately, the same story happened again – Osaka’s journey ended in Round 3.
In the post-match interview, Osaka revealed she’s taking a hiatus from professional tennis, saying that “winning did not make her happy anymore.”
What do the Japanese think of Naomi Osaka?
According to a survey from 2021, the most popular athlete in Japan last year was figure skater Hanyū Yuzuru, followed by two baseball players, Suzuki Ichiro and Shohei Ohtani. Naomi Osaka finished in the #4 position on that list, suggesting that her countrymen have lost the enthusiasm they had for her in the past.
The most likely reason for this is what happened at the Olympics. The Japanese had great expectations for her, making Osaka the person to light the Olympic cauldron at the opening ceremony. With such an honor bestowed upon her by the nation, she was expected to win gold in return.
Another reason why her fellow Japanese aren’t going too crazy about her in recent times is that she hasn’t been spending much time in Japan. Instead, she resides in Beverly Hills, California, with her boyfriend, American rapper Cordae. Actually, Osaka’s been living in the United States for a very long time, even before tennis made her famous. She was only three years old when her Japanese mother and Haitian father decided to move to New York.
New Year, New Opportunities for Osaka
It’s been almost a year since we saw Osaka win her last WTA title. The good news is that a new opportunity is just around the corner.
In the second half of January, Osaka will have a chance to defend her Australian Open title. She’s coming to Melbourne as the #2 favorite, just behind the current #1 WTA player, Ash Barty.