The highest-paid female athlete in the world made $37.4M last year.

The best part? She's only 22.

This is the story of the next global sports superstar no one is talking about.

Time for a thread

1) When you think about the biggest global superstars in sports, who typically comes to mind?

Maybe LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo or Roger Federer?

Whether people like it or not, female athletes are rarely mentioned in that conversation.

Naomi Osaka is here to change that.

2) Naomi Osaka was born in Japan, moving to the United States when she was just 3 years old.

Inspired by the performance of Venus & Serena Williams at the 1999 French Open, Naomi and her sister became laser focused on becoming professional tennis players.

3) By the time Naomi Osaka was 9, her family had fully committed to her tennis aspirations.

The Osaka family moved from New York to Florida so her and her sister could practice full-time.

Naomi proved to be a natural, becoming a local legend on the public courts north of Miami.

4) After dominating the junior circuit, Naomi Osaka turned professional at the age of 16.

Since then, she's dominated.

Accomplishments:
- 2018 US Open Champion
- 2019 Australian Open Champion
- #1 in the world at 21
- $14.6M in tournament winnings

Not bad for 22 years old…

5) With success, came endorsements - where Naomi Osaka has dominated even more than she has on the court.

Endorsements include:
- Nike
- Nissan
- Citizen
- Yonex

The global appeal of Osaka has helped.

In total, over 90% of Naomi Osaka's 2019 earnings came from endorsements.

6) When it comes to Nike, Naomi Osaka timed it perfectly.

Shortly after her Adidas contract ended, Osaka won consecutive grand slams - catapulting her to a world #1 ranking.

Serena Williams turned 38 and Maria Sharapova was dealing with injuries, which gave Osaka all the power.

7) Naomi Osaka landed a historic deal with Nike, a deal rumored to average ~$8.5M annually.

The best part?

Osaka negotiated the ability to continue with “patch sponsors”, or non-Nike apparel sponsorships - something Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova were never able to do.

8) In 2019, Naomi Osaka made $37.4M - the most in female athlete history.

Here are a few notable athletes that Naomi Osaka made more than in 2019 ( @Forbes):
- Canelo Alvarez
- Damian Lillard
- Sebastian Vettel
- Serena Williams
- Mohamed Salah

Pretty damn cool.

9) Off the court, Naomi Osaka has started to let her personally shine through.

Taking on an activist role, Osaka withdrew from the Western & Southern Open following the shooting of Jacob Blake.

Eventually, Osaka agreed to finish the event.

Albeit, with new warmup attire.

10) The best part about Naomi Osaka's personality?

She doesn't care what you think.

Here is Naomi Osaka's response when fans told her the tennis equivalent of "shut up and dribble". https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1268590075786326017

11) Through a combination of athletic success, global marketability, and personality - Naomi Osaka is ready to become the next global superstar.

Given she's only 22 years old, could we be looking at the first female sports billionaire?

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Sources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2019/04/04/naomi-osaka-switches-course-inks-nike-endorsement-deal/#4c9fd9547da2

https://www.tennis365.com/wta-tour/wta-stars-dominate-2020-forbes-highest-paid-female-athletes-list-as-naomi-osaka-leads-serena-williams/

https://www.forbes.com/athletes/#509b9d9d55ae