Two months after her improbable package at Roland Garros - she had left Paris after refusing to participate in press conferences citing mental health problems - Naomi Osaka is visibly much better.
Before participating in the Olympic Games, at home in Tokyo, the Japanese tennis player has chained collaborations and media outings in recent weeks.
After the launch of a Barbie doll in her effigy and a documentary on Netflix devoted to her career, Osaka made the front page of Vogue but especially of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, the famous summer version of "swimsuits" of the famous American magazine.
After MMA fighter Ronda Rousey and footballer Alex Morgan, the Japanese tenniswoman is the 2021 sports guarantee of the magazine which also features rapper Megan Thee Stallion and transgender actress Leyna Bloom.
“
What attracted us to Naomi was her passion, strength and power to constantly break down barriers to equality, social justice and mental health,
” explained SI Swimsuit editor. MJ Day.
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Gold medal goal at the Tokyo Olympics
On May 31, Naomi Osaka invoked anxiety problems to justify her withdrawal from Roland Garros, explaining in particular having gone through "
long periods of depression
" since 2018. The four-time Grand Slam winner (US Open 2018 and 2020, Australian Open 2019 and 2021) then gave up participating in Wimbledon where she never shone. "
She will be ready for (Tokyo) and is eager to play in front of her audience,
" her agent Stuart Duguid explained in mid-June. This was before the decision of the Japanese government to play behind closed doors the Olympic Games where Osaka represents one of the most important gold medal chances for the host country. The tennis tournament starts on Sunday July 25.
