‘Felt Really Pushed to Do Better’ – Naomi Osaka Details How Kobe Bryant’s Mentorship Made Her Better Tennis Player

Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka has achieved outstanding success in her young career. The 24-year-old already has four Grand Slam titles to her name. While Osaka credits Serena Williams as the person who inspired her to pursue tennis, she equally adores the late Kobe Bryant.

While Serena inspired her, Bryant was a good friend and a guide for her at the same time. In a recent podcast, Osaka revealed the impact Bryant had on her.

Osaka speaks about Kobe Bryant’s guidance

Speaking about the legendary former NBA star, Osaka explained the impact of having him as a guiding force. “I would say I learned a lot from him. I just learned a lot of calming things. Also, I learned how hard he practices and how hard he works at everything that he does. That was also extremely motivating, and I felt really pushed to do better,” she said.

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Adding further, the 24-year-old said, “I would say it was definitely helpful for me just to be able to reach out and talk to him whenever I felt like there was a situation that I couldn’t figure out the answer to. And just to have that mentor.”

The struggle continues for Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka has made a name for herself in a brief span of time. The 24-year-old comes to the court loaded with the burden of high expectations on her shoulders. However, the Japanese has not been in the best of her form lately. After her shocking French Open withdrawal last year, Osaka has never looked the same. She has failed to perform at the level that fans expect her to.

Adding to her problems, the 24-year-old also has suffered from frequent injury issues. After a shocking first-round exit from the French Open this year, she had to miss out on Wimbledon because of her Achilles injury. Later she made a comeback but failed to impress in the American hard court swing as well.

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Recently, she suffered yet another Grand Slam first-round exit. Playing against Danielle Collins of Australia, she lost in straight sets and crashed out of the US Open. With immense talent and a lot of time still left in her career, Osaka will be eager to bounce back from the rough phase she is going through.