Skip to Content
Off Court

A Letter From Naomi Osaka

[vc_empty_space height="5px"]

By Naomi Osaka

[vc_empty_space height="15px"]This issue isn’t all about me, it’s about my world. I feel like this is a different lens to see my orbit from—a more interesting one for the reader. Everyone knows most of my answers to the standard questions by now, so there’s not much more I can add to my biography or tennis results. So asking Racquet to write about and illustrate my world, I hope, will allow people to see me from a different perspective. I felt it was time to offer a commentary on the culture around the periphery of tennis, rather than forehands and backhands. The edition touches on things I’m interested in like fashion, travel, art, and photography, so there was so much potential to broaden the context in which I’m seen.

Racquet published one of the first profiles of me, in the fall of 2016, before I’d made a mark in professional tennis. I think it was interesting back then because most people didn’t know me or my story, but now it’s been told so many times it’s starting to lose its relevance, so I’m excited to do something different and fresh. There have been a lot of newspaper columns devoted to my personal story, so for me it’s time to turn the page and talk about cool stuff that we can all relate to together.

For the cover, I chose the Nigerian visual artist Dennis Osadebe. I have a few pieces of his in my house and I think he’s awesome. As for the rest of the magazine in your hands, the interpretation is in the eye of the beholder, so I have no preconceived ideas about what anyone will take away from this project. I hope there’s a broad enough spectrum here that there’s something that everyone can relate to, or enjoy consuming.

naomi_end-point

[vc_empty_space height="10px"]Above: Johanna Goodman (Getty/Robert Wilson)[vc_column width="1/6"][vc_tweetmeme share_via="racqetmagazine"][vc_column width="1/6"][vc_facebook type="button_count"][vc_column width="1/6"][vc_column width="1/6"][vc_column width="1/6"][vc_column width="1/6"][vc_empty_space height="45px"][vc_column width="1/4"][vc_column width="1/2"]

ISSUE NO. 17
By NAOMI OSAKA

racquet_issue-17

[vc_btn title="BUY NOW" style="outline" shape="square" color="success" size="lg" align="center" button_block="true" link="url:https%3A%2F%2Fracquetmag.com%2Fproduct%2Fissue-no-17%2F|title:GET%20IT%20NOW||"][vc_column width="1/4"]

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Racquet

Postcard from Egypt: I Turned a Vacation into an ITF

One 37-year old former D3 player trying to stay fit while traveling with her husband and toddler gets carried away and enters a pro tournament at the encouragement of her hotel pro. What could go wrong?

May 1, 2026

Michael McGregor’s Tennis Love Story

The vibrant and idiosyncratic still lifes—often composed on hotel stationary—are the work of artist Michael McGregor, whose roots in a “huge tennis family” inform one of his favorite themes.

April 28, 2026

Pàdel Shots: a Lexicon

A by-no-means-exhaustive list of the names and neologisms that define a new(ish) sport

April 27, 2026

Why Everyone You Know is Playing Padel

Many sports like to claim that they’re the fastest-growing, and they often have a legitimate claim to the title, depending on how you measure it. But, by almost any yardstick, pàdel really is the world’s fastest-growing sport.

April 27, 2026

Have Pàdel Will Travel

The hottest clubs around the world don’t feature EDM dance floors or after-hours speakeasies. They’re racquet-centric, they’re wellness-affiliated, and they’re taking advantage of the fastest-growing sport on the planet. Welcome to the global network of pàdel.

April 27, 2026

Pàdel Party in the U.S.A.

Pàdel is about people. Whether you play competitively and want to win, or play socially and need a reason to wear that outfit, it revolves around coming together as a team to make all the different reasons come to life.

April 27, 2026
See all posts