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In the summer of 2018, Naomi Osaka shocked the world by defeating Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the US Open Tennis Championships. Osaka was already a formidable rising star in the tennis world at the time, and her landmark victory over Serena Williams also made her the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Osaka described her win as ‘bittersweet’ – Williams got into a spat with the umpire during the match and the reaction from spectators was less than gracious when Osaka was announced the winner. However, Osaka also gained a staggering number of new supporters in the days afterward as Japan celebrated its new position at the top of world tennis.
With Osaka expected to compete in the fast-approaching Tokyo Olympics, now is as good a time as any for the tennis star to receive her own documentary series on Netflix. The series is created in collaboration with athletic company Uninterrupted, founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, and produced by Film 45.
hey @uninterrupted wanna make a @netflix doc? 👀🧐🙊 pic.twitter.com/bIgFy8ps30
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) February 13, 2020
In a prepared statement to Variety, Osaka promised that the series 'won't look like a traditional sports documentary' and would give viewers an insight to who she really is. While the series will show Osaka training for the Tokyo Olympic Games, it will also cover her identity as a mixed-race athlete and her multicultural upbringing in the United States courtesy of her Japanese mother and Haitian father.
Netflix will release the series on July 13, just days ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games, which are set to begin on July 23.
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