LOS ANGELES — LeBron James and Naomi Osaka are becoming teammates in the entertainment world.
“There has been an explosion of creators of color finally being equipped with resources and a huge platform,” Osaka said in a press release about her newest venture. “In the streaming age, content has a more global perspective. You can see this in the popularity of television from Asia, Europe, and Latin America that the unique can also be universal. My story is a testament to that as well. I’m so excited for what we are building at Hana Kuma. We will bring stories to life with this goal in mind: to make unique perspectives feel universal and inspire people along the way.”
The 24-year-old Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who also has reached No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father; the family moved to New York when Naomi was 3 and she now is based in Los Angeles.
Osaka recently said she would be skipping Wimbledon for the second year in a row. She has not competed on tour since a first-round loss at the French Open last month.
According to Forbes, Osaka became the world’s highest-paid female athlete in 2020 by earning about $37 million thanks to a long list of sponsorship deals.
More recently, she has been taking steps to broaden her brand beyond the tennis court.
Asked about EVOLVE at Roland Garros, Osaka said: “I think role models are really important, just to see somebody do something — and it makes you feel like you can do the same thing, too. I found it really interesting that there wasn’t a female athlete that’s done this before, but there has been so many men. So I think it’s a journey, and I feel like I’m going to learn a lot on the journey.”
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