TENNIS
Osaka’s film nominated for an Emmy Award
Naomi Osaka, a Japanese athlete who was formerly ranked as the top female tennis player in the world, has recently made a name for herself as a producer.
In June 2022, Hana Kuma, a production company co-founded by Osaka and her long-time agent and business partner Stuart Duguid, launched in partnership with the SpringHill Company, owned by NBA legend LeBron James.
The company’s short documentary film, Mink, which tells the story of Patsy Takemoto Mink, a Japanese-American woman from Hawaii who became the first black woman elected to the US Congress, has been nominated for an Emmy Award.
Oscar-winner Ben Proudfoot directed the film.
Mink was a Democrat who strongly advocated for women’s rights and education. She co-authored the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act, which was renamed in her honor as the Patsy T. Mink Equal Opportunity in Education Act in 2002.
The four-time Grand Slam champion expressed gratitude for hitting the mark on her first attempt.
“Huge congratulations to everyone on the team. Emmy nomination on our first project is kinda crazy. So grateful,” she wrote on her Instagram story.
Naomi Osaka, a former World No. 1 tennis player, recently became a mother. She shared that she was pregnant during her withdrawal from the 2023 Australian Open and has since welcomed her first child, a daughter named Shai, with her boyfriend, Cordae.
During a recent interview with Vogue, Osaka spoke candidly about the difficulties of being forced to sit out of the tournament. As a two-time Australian Open champion, she admitted feeling upset about missing out on the competition.
“I remember following the Australian Open a little bit earlier this year, and it made me upset because I’ve never missed an Australian Open,” she said.
The tennis player said she wouldn’t give up her experience as a mother for anything. However, she did mention that being unable to compete was difficult for her.
“It was kind of hard to cope with those feelings of wanting to be there really badly. I wouldn’t trade this for the world, but it was hard to watch everyone competing over there [while I was] sitting out,” she added.
Naomi Osaka’s current ranking is 439 as of July 31, 2023.