Naomi Osaka

Companies: Evolve, Hana Kuma, KINLÒ, Miami Pickleball Club & Play Academy with Naomi Osaka
Title: Professional Tennis Player & Entrepreneur
Industry: Culture, media, entertainment and sports
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Notable in 2023: Tennis phenom turned business mogul with a focus on inclusivity, diversity and mental health awareness in sports.

"Success for me is not just on the court," says professional tennis player Naomi Osaka. "I want to be a good person and a voice for progress and change."

Off the court, she's proving it. The tennis star has founded media and consumer businesses, a nonprofit, and become a leading voice on mental health awareness and treatment.

Her media company Hana Kuma's mission is to amplify local stories with global appeal. Launched in 2022 with the backing of Lebron James and Maverick Carter's The SpringHill Company and Uninterrupted, the recent short film Footsteps details the story of Haiti's first-ever entry into the FIFA Women's World Cup. The docushort – which goes beyond athletics to explore how the community of the sport has supported young women in Haiti – is an example of the stories that drive Osaka, an immigrant raised in a multicultural (Haitian and Japanese) household.

"What excites me is being able to inspire people and tell new stories, particularly ones that I would have wanted to see when I was a kid," Osaka told the New York Times. "I always wanted to…see someone like me."

Hana Kuma's inaugural film was nominated for an Emmy in 2022, and the company has since partnered with big names like Meta. In 2023, the company raised $5 million in a fundraising round that saw it spun off from SpringHill. More recently, it launched a video podcast series with tennis star Nick Kyrgios, called "Good Trouble," and announced the development of a new adult anime series, the lead of which is to be voiced by Osaka.

Last year, the tennis phenom took a break from competing while pregnant with her daughter. During her hiatus, she continued her efforts to destigmatize mental health in sports, an issue Osaka has been a vocal advocate for since her rise to prominence in 2018. In partnership with Modern Health, she released a series of meditations for children to equip them with the tools to navigate complex emotions during an escalating youth mental health crisis.

Osaka's non-profit organization, Play Academy, supports young people by providing grants and training for community sports organizations with an emphasis on positive play experience and coaches trained in gender inclusivity. In 2023, the organization provided grants to support youth programs and young athletes across Haiti, Japan and the U.S.

She is also the founder of KINLÒ, a skincare brand designed for the "melanin-rich" and co-founder of Evolve, the first female-led talent agency. Although it all started with tennis, Osaka said she had always hoped her influence would spread far beyond sports.