Title: Naomi Osaka
Stars: Naomi Osaka, Leonard Francois, Tamaki Osaka, Mari Osaka
Director: Garrett Bradley
Genre: Biography, mini-series
Episodes: 3
My Rating: 6.5/10
Naomi Osaka
I think at this point, a lot of people have heard of Naomi Osaka. Suddenly she won the US Open and became a star overnight. Which sounds like a dream to many. But fame has a negative side: pressure. Now Naomi Osaka feels a lot of pressure as the former number 1 of the world. And at the same time, she is trying to figure out what she really wants in life
Review
I think Naomi Osaka is an incredible tennis player. So when I heard this documentary came out, I knew I had to watch it. I don’t watch a lot of documentaries, to be honest. I’ve seen the Taylor Swift documentary and Avicii but I think that was it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a documentary about a sport. But there is a first time for everything.
This documentary is a nice way to get her to know her a little bit better. I mean, I knew she was struggling mentally, but it was nice to see her off the court as well. Naomi started to play tennis at the age of 3, together with her sister. Naomi said that she wasn’t a great tennis player when she was a kid. So that means she worked really hard to get to where she is right now. I mean, she is the former number one in the world. That is incredible. But after winning the US Open, she gets more and more attention and it’s been hard for her.
I can totally understand because at first, nobody is really paying attention to her and then she wins the US Open and suddenly everyone in the tennis world knows her. She is now in the spotlight. I think she was right too. She said that you have to be very strong mind when you want to play tennis because you are playing alone. It is just you. I do watch Tennis sometimes, most of the time I watched Kiki Bertens. She was also struggling mentally. I could easily tell when she was struggling or not. But being mentally strong is so important in tennis. If you feel good, you will likely get better results. But if you lose, you can accept it and move on. Naomi is still working on that mental health aspect. I really hope for her she will find that strength.
That part with Kobe Bryant was pretty emotional. Naomi wanted to text him and ask how to deal with loss and she didn’t. And suddenly it was too late. But after that, she was also struggling with the loss of a friend. This documentary was filmed in 2019/2020 but now in 2021, I am happy she is taking care of herself and her mental health.
One part of the documentary that was relatable was Naomi talking about life on her own birthday at a restaurant. She was wondering if she was doing enough. She apparently has/had the feeling that she should have done more by the age of 22. But I think we all think that. She knows that there isn’t a timeline for life but sometimes it can feel like that. Maybe it is because of social media.
But it was also nice to see another part of herself. She likes fashion a lot and I didn’t know that. I don’t follow her on social media. It was nice to get to know her a little bit better. I think she is a wonderful and nice person. I mean, how she helped Coco Gauff was beautiful.
But don’t expect too much action in this documentary. Tennis is already that kind of sport where you just can chill on the couch and watch the match. This whole documentary is like that. It is slow, calm but still nice if you like tennis and/or Naomi Osaka.