It is imperative to give back to the profession that we love so much. As far as tennis is concerned, there have been numerous examples of players giving back to the sport. In 2016, Rafael Nadal launched his academy in his hometown to help the younger generation of players succeed in tennis. Further, in 2020, Naomi Osaka announced the launch of her academy in Tokyo, Japan. Subsequently, she has expanded this initiative in Los Angeles and Haiti.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has partnered with Nike and Laureus Sport to expand her initiative toward increasing opportunities for young girls to take up the sport. It is a grassroots-level initiative, that aims to nurture talented young players. Recently, the academy launched its website to further increase its influence. During the launch of her website, she had a fellow player accompanying her at the academy.

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Naomi Osaka thanks Frances Tiafoe

Frances Tiafoe made his presence felt at the academy during the launch of the Play Academy’s website. The American star spent quality time with the kids, sharing his experiences on the big stage. Further, Naomi took to Instagram and posted a story, expressing gratitude toward Tiafoe for taking his time out for this initiative. She said, “Big shoutout to Frances Tiafoe for pulling up.”

Speaking about the academy, Naomi said, “Play Academy with Naomi Osaka (PANO) is a program I created through a partnership between Nike and Laureus Sport for Good with the goal of changing girls’ lives through play and sport — something that tennis did for me growing up. The program provides grants and capacity building training and speaks to encouraging positive and inclusive play, especially for girls in sport.”

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It is a great initiative by Naomi, who has achieved tremendous success in tennis at a very young age. Along with her illustrious career on the court, she is highly successful off the court too. Naomi is one of the highest-earning athletes in the world and boasts of numerous business ventures.