UNCOVERED TRUTH:A recent revelation uncovers the true reason Naomi Osaka renounced her US citizenship.Naomi Osaka’s nationality may seem…
Naomi Osaka’s nationality may seem complex, as she was born in Japan, grew up in America, and plays tennis for Japan. Born on October 16, 1997, in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan, Naomi has a mother from Hokkaido, Japan, and a father from Jacmel, Haiti.
In a 2018 interview with The New York Times, Naomi’s mother, Tamaki, revealed that Naomi and her sister, Mari, took their mother’s last name, Osaka, instead of their father’s, Francois, to make it easier for them to stay in Japan, attend school, or rent apartments. However, Naomi didn’t remain in Japan for long after her birth.
At the age of three, Naomi and her family moved to the United States, initially living with her father Leonard’s grandparents in Long Island, New York. They later relocated to Florida when Naomi was around eight years old.
In Florida, Naomi and her sister Mari, also a professional tennis player, trained for most of their tennis careers. At 13, their father decided they would represent Japan in tennis instead of the United States, as the United States Tennis Association showed little interest in the sisters. “My dad thought that since I grew up around my mom and I have a lot of Japanese relatives,” Naomi told The New York Times. “I don’t necessarily feel like I’m American. I wouldn’t know what that feels like.”
Naomi held dual citizenship in both the U.S. and Japan for most of her life.
