Naomi Osaka Awarded Best Athlete in Women’s Sports
Naomi Osaka is taking the sports world by storm. The 23-year-old won Best Athlete in Women’s Sports at the ESPY Awards. This is the first time since last month Osaka made an appearance. The tennis star attended the ceremony with her rapper boyfriend, Cordae. When accepting the award, Osaka became teary-eyed and gave a heartfelt speech, bearing her soul to the audience.
“I know this year has been really tough for a lot of us. For me, I just want to say, I really love you guys and this is my first ESPYs so it’s really cool to be surrounded by all these incredible athletes. I think all of you guys are really cool and I watch some of you on TV, so it’s really surreal to be here. Thank you so much, and I really appreciate it.”
.@naomiosaka is the 2021 @ESPYS‘ winner for Best Athlete, Women’s Sports!
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 11, 2021
… and she always gives the most wholesome speeches 🥺 pic.twitter.com/XrorWcjVUz
This was the first time Osaka made an appearance since withdrawing from the French Open and Wimbleton. She was fined $15,000 for withdrawing, choosing to focus on her mental health. Osaka has always been open about her struggles with depression and social anxiety, submitting an essay to TIME Magazine about her experience.
Yes!!! Naomi Osaka wins best female athlete ESPY award. Well deserved! #ESPYS
— Aneela (@neelaas) July 11, 2021
Waking up and seeing that Naomi Osaka won the best female athlete ESPY award is amazing. My day has already my been made #ESPYS
— Ama (@Judith_AME) July 11, 2021
“In any other line of work, you would be forgiven for taking a personal day here and there, so long as it’s not habitual,” Naomi wrote in her essay. “You wouldn’t have to divulge your most personal symptoms to your employer; there would likely be HR measures protecting at least some level of privacy. In my case, I felt under a great amount of pressure to disclose my symptoms—frankly because the press and the tournament did not believe me. I do not wish that on anyone and hope that we can enact measures to protect athletes, especially the fragile ones.”
Osaka will be heading to the Tokyo Olympics this year, representing Japan. Furthermore, she is getting her own documentary on Netflix about her life and career entitled Naomi Osaka, which premieres on July 16. In addition, she launched her new Barbie Doll, which you can buy here. Fans are excited about Osaka’s return to the limelight and await what the future has in store for her.
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