Naomi Osaka

Sometimes I feel like I'm a vessel...

...because I've been playing tennis since I was three.

I just, like, train and practice constantly.

Growing up,

we kinda kept to ourselves.

Daddy!

My dad didn't really talk to, like, other tennis parents.

So many people have told my dad

that I would never be anything.

I... I just started writing a list

of all historic things that I could possibly do,

um, and for me,

being the first Japanese person to win a Grand Slam was, like,

at the top of the list.

It is one of the hottest tickets in sport right now

to see this young star play.

Naomi Osaka.

Naomi Osaka.

Naomi Osaka!

Growing up, she dreamed of playing Serena Williams

in a Grand Slam final.

A 20-year-old playing in her first Grand Slam final.

Come on! Let's go, Naomi!

Forty-fifteen.

Serving now for the title.

Two championship points.

Naomi!

Come on, Naomi!

Forty-thirty.

Game, set, and match, Osaka.

Naomi Osaka is the US Open champion.

It's a final we are never gonna forget.

But this is gonna change young Naomi's life, isn't it?

...United States Open champion Naomi Osaka.

No one really knows all the sacrifices that you make

just to be good.

Naomi!

I think the amount of attention that I get is kind of ridiculous.

No one prepares you for that, you know?

It's really weird sometimes.

Thank you!

Thank you! I love you!

Thank you!

Naomi,

she came fast.

She was like an overnight superstar.

And that is so, so difficult for anyone.

Stuart, he's that person who's always there for me.

You would probably call me an agent and a manager.

She's 23.

She's become the first Asian player to reach number one.

Thank you.

She's won four Grand Slams.

I'm sorry. We have so many. Thank you.

She's set the record for earnings in a calendar year for female athletes.

And everyone has an opinion.

You know, her team, her family, her sponsors,

her friends.

Social media, you wanna add in, like, another million people.

Everyone has an opinion.

You know, she's young.

There's pressure on her,

and I think that pressure weighs heavily on her.

When I'm playing, I have, like, a robot mind.

Like, you... you're basically punching in and... and punching out.

But your punching in is winning the match.

I feel like you have to be really mentally strong

to play tennis.

'Cause tennis is a solo sport.

You're kind of by yourself.

You just have to keep going out there every day,

trying to figure stuff out and just keep adjusting.

The interesting thing is, like, everyone's built differently.

So we all have our different strengths.

I used to call myself a counter-puncher,

but I think I'm really an aggressive baseliner.

A counter-puncher is someone that, like, can take the blows...

...and then will wait for an opportunity...

...to finish it.

Aggressive baseliner is someone that kinda dictates ...

...how the game goes.

'Cause, like, my playing style, I don't really have to think too much.

I mean, of course you have to think, but I'm better instinct-wise.

Sure. So she moved in two days ago,

which is really exciting.

She said she was up all night crying and shaking

from the moment she walked in 'cause she thought it was so beautiful.

But that being said, it's only, like, 70% finished.

There's a room in the pool house that she wants to convert to a gym.

We've ordered all the equipment. It's supposed to come on the 28th,

so the gym should be in working order for her to start training again.

I moved away from my family for work.

And there's nothing I regret about it.

I feel like that's also a process of growing up,

but at the same time, you know, sometimes I feel lonely.

Because there's activities that I want to do,

and I could just imagine myself doing it with my sister,

but then there's, like, no one here.

Um...

I mean, the only one that's here sometimes is my boyfriend,

and he doesn't get active!

So, like, the last two nights that I slept here, right,

I didn't sleep because,

um, I was, like, saying it was jet lag,

but actually I was just very scared.

Like, every noise freaked me out.

So then I ended up just staying on my phone.

Like, it... I felt like it was someone else's house.

Before I won the US Open,

I was flying under the radar.

So people wouldn't really care if I won or I lost.

And I think that becoming number one,

I really internalized and made into inside pressure.

And now I feel like

I want to be the best tennis player in the world.

When she won the US Open,

it was a very good feeling.

Having that dream and to see it become reality.

But it's funny that in a couple of days after,

it's like, "Let's get back to work."

Because the next tournament, it starts all over again.

OK, now it's about, "OK."

"Was it a fluke?"

Or, you know... you know all these people, "Ah, it was just luck."

So the player has to prove themselves again and again and again.

Mic check. Test.

Two. Three. Four.

One. Two. Three. Four.

Test.

It's the day before her first match,

and, to be honest,

I think she's pretty nervous.

You know, I'm obviously pretty nervous myself.

I mean, it's New York.

It's the last Grand Slam of the year.

She's the defending champion.

There's a lot at stake.

For her, obviously, but for me as well.

This is, like, my first coaching role,

and I feel that we're still,

you know, learning each other.

I just wanna see her block out all the distractions.

All the noise.

And just focus on playing her best tennis.

Ladies and gentlemen,

from Japan,

Naomi Osaka!

Osaka was born in Japan.

Moved to the US when she was pretty young, three years of age.

See the Naomi Osaka fans.

There's a look at Kobe Bryant,

former professional basketball player.

And there's Colin Kaepernick.

A-listers courtside today.

Game, Osaka.

Game, set, and match, Osaka.

Everyone, please wait to be recognized. Please turn your cell phones off.

English first.

It was the second time at this tournament

I've seen a girl so happy to see you in the stands that she starts crying.

What does that feel like for you?

Um...

Yeah. I mean, for me, I'd...

...I'd rather people don't cry.

Um, it kinda makes me emotional too,

and, yeah, I mean, it's really crazy for me.

I know, like, everyone said that the past year has been, like, insane.

Um, and I think it's moments like that that sort of make me realize it.

Um, and I'm... I'm really grateful.

And I'm honestly really humbled by it

because I know as a kid,

I had my favorite players, you know, and, um,

they're kinda still playing right now.

So, ye... yeah, it's crazy.

Naomi, going back to your player box,

how well have you gotten to know Kobe?

Kobe kinda gives me, like, real-life advice.

He's someone that I sort of look up to

as an athlete and also as a person. Um...

So I'm really grateful that I even have the opportunity to talk to him and stuff.

This was one of Kobe's bucket list items.

Get to the US Open.

It's a terrific night for you to be here, with Naomi Osaka earlier this afternoon,

and there's a lot of advice you have to offer.

Well, I think the important thing

is that there's gonna be a lot of things that are gonna be thrown at her, right?

Commitments, responsibilities. Those things will grow.

It's important for her to stay focused on what's most important, which is the craft.

There's gonna be a lot of things pulling you in different directions,

but you have to stay locked in on what got you these opportunities,

which is the game of tennis, and continue to get better at the craft.

It all comes from there.

And we've been talking a lot about Coco Gauff, and just...

You know, she's 15 years old,

but the poise and the maturity that we've seen from her

dealing with so much at such a young age.

You know, to me, it's amazing how fundamentally sound she seems to be,