Osaka: I’ve allowed myself to dream of Olympic gold
Olympic debutant, face of the Games, contender for gold: Naomi Osaka is all that and more as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics hover on the horizon.
The reigning US and Australian Open champion ranks among the hot favourites to stand atop the podium in the Olympic tennis event in August – and she admits to having entertained the notion of a medal hanging around her neck as the Japanese national anthem plays at Ariake Coliseum this summer.
“I have allowed myself to dream that dream of winning the gold medal,” Osaka told the ITF during the Miami Open. “But it won’t be easy. And I tend to put my goals realistically and also short-term, and it’s not even July yet! So, I’m going to chill.”
Listening to Osaka explain what the Olympics mean to her, the wonder of the Games and the honour of becoming an Olympian flow through the 23-year-old’s words.
“For me, it’s always been a dream of mine,” she said. “As a kid you wake up and watch your favourite athletes play.
“My most outstanding Olympic memory is just watching [Usain] Bolt run. He’s my favourite athlete, me and my whole family – my dad loves his running, so we would just, like, watch him.”
Aged 18 in 2016, Osaka just missed out on a berth in the Olympic tennis event’s 64-player draw by a handful of spots. She made her WTA top-50 debut a matter of weeks after the Rio Olympics with victory at the Japan Open – held at the same venue that will host this summer’s event.
Five years on, Osaka is now a four-time Grand Slam champion having won twin titles in Melbourne and New York, and became the WTA’s 26th world No. 1 in January 2019, a spot she has held for a total of 25 weeks to date in her career.
Yet when she talks of the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo, her thoughts go beyond the court, to the spectacle that awaits the world in 100 days’ time and the unique aura that surrounds each Olympiad.
“When I think of the Olympics, what comes to mind is of course the Opening Ceremony, seeing all the people being so happy. I think what I’m most looking forward to being in Tokyo during the Olympics is the atmosphere. It’s definitely going to be one-of-a-kind, and it’s something that’s going to be etched into my memory for ever.”
“I’m really looking forward to playing in the Olympics. Representing Japan means a lot to me. It’s where I was born, it’s my mom’s home country, and it definitely going to be exciting. It’s one of my life goals.”