Osaka may soon become the No. 1 women's tennis player in terms of off-court earningsGETTY IMAGES
Tennis player Naomi Osaka will "continue to wear her sponsor patches" from Nissin and All Nippon Airways on the court under her new deal with Nike, which "normally does not allow its athletes to put patches on Nike clothes," according to the N.Y. Times' Ben Rothenberg. Retired tennis player Li Na was the "first high-profile exception to that rule" (TWITTER.com, 4/5). TENNIS.com's Kamakshi Tandon noted Osaka "appears set to become the WTA's No. 1 in off-court earnings." Both Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova have "been the world's highest-paid female athletes during their career," with more than $20M in annual earnings. Osaka could now be "approaching similar territory," with two Grand Slam victories and, according to her agency, IMG, six new sponsorships since "becoming a Slam champion." Osaka's off-court earnings were around $1.5M "before she won the U.S. Open" in September (TENNIS.com, 4/6).
DECISION TIME: In N.Y., Motoko Rich noted Osaka has "citizenship in both Japan and the United States," but under Japanese law, dual citizens "must choose between the two nationalities by the time they turn 22," which Osaka will do in October. Under ITF rules, Osaka "could not play for Japan if she gave up her Japanese citizenship." Osaka's mother is Japanese, and her father is Haitian-American (N.Y. TIMES, 4/7).
