US Open winner Naomi Osaka is "set to receive a bonus payment" from her sponsor, Citizen Watch, which said that it is also "considering featuring the 20-year-old Japanese tennis star in television commercials," according to Takahiko Hyuga of BLOOMBERG. Leading up to Osaka's "dramatic win" over Serena Williams, Citizen spokesperson Noriyuki Mitome said that the brand "received an increasing number of inquiries about the watch" Osaka wore at the tournament. Mitome "declined to disclose details of the reward" (BLOOMBERG, 9/10). In N.Y., Lisa Fickenscher reported sources said that the "shy" Osaka is "poised to become a branding sensation." Sports media/marketing consultant Joe Favorito said that Osaka's win "happened in front of major brand decision makers, because they were physically in the building." Favorito: "The fact that she succeeded in New York gives her another one-up." Osaka was raised in the U.S., but "played for Japan, which will likely result in even richer endorsement deals" surrounding the 2020 Tokyo Games (N.Y. POST, 9/11).
POWERFUL AMBASSADOR: MUMBRELLA's Rob Sherlock wrote there is "no doubt" that Osaka's win will "lead to some lucrative commercial deals in Japan and further afield." She currently has sponsorship ties to Nissin, adidas, Yonex, Citizen and Japanese broadcaster Wowow. All of those are "big Japanese brands, most of them global," and those companies will "see an immediate uplift from their association with Japan's new queen of the court." Osaka "represents a unique opportunity for other brands looking to back her as well." Her "unique mix of cultural diversity, emotional engagement and pure sporting brilliance makes her a very powerful ambassador" for the right brands (MUMBRELLA, 9/10).
