No one knows what sacrifices you make to become good. The revelation is by Naomi Osaka, the 23-year-old former No 1 in world women’s tennis, in the trailer for a new Netflix documentary series about her life.
The production came out in an extremely difficult period for Naomi Osaka, but the story gives her an accurate description of the reasons why she gave up Roland Garros and Wimbledon and decided to pay more attention to her mental health.
The three episodes are directed by Garrett Bradley, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2020 for her documentary Time.
Naomi Osaka says in the trailer that before winning the US Open in 2018, “many people told my father that nothing would come of me”. Her victory in the final against Serena Williams launched her to the pinnacle of fame – completely unprepared for the tension that awaits her at this moment.
“I think the attention they’re giving me is kind of absurd. Nobody’s preparing you for that. I don’t know … I feel like I’m suffering”, she said in another scene in the documentary series.
Naomi Osaka’s parents, Tamaki Osaka and Leonard Francois, also star in the three episodes. Her father was born in Haiti but studies in the United States, her mother is from Japan. The two met while Francois was visiting Hokkaido as a student, and when Naomi was three, they returned permanently to New York.
“Growing up, all I thought about was wanting my mom to be happy. I wanted her to stop working. My mother worked overtime, sometimes sleeping in her car. For me, that was the whole reason I played tennis”, said Naomi Osaka.
Her father also gives special meaning to the efforts she makes in professional sports: “Whenever I am in difficult situations, he tells me that our ancestors spent 40 days on this ship. I use this as my strength.”
The documentary has been following Osaka closely for the past two years, as the tennis player speaks candidly about the overload of trying to meet other people’s expectations, the constant travel and training, the unexpected loss of her mentor Kobe Bryant, the reactions to her decision to publicly support the Black Lives Matter movement and etc.
Naomi Osaka is striving for the top at all costs as family, sponsors, journalists, and millions of fans around the world try to influence its decisions.
“Everyone who’s heard of me knows me as a tennis player. Then what am I if I’m not a good tennis player?”, asks Naomi Osaka in the trailer.
The three episodes will premiere on Netflix on July 16. Just a week later, the Tokyo Olympics begin, where Naomi Osaka will finally return to the court after a two-month break.
