Osaka headed for big money with Japan and global appeal

TOKYO: Naomi Osaka used a powerful forehand and a matching serve to win the US Open against Serena Williams two months ago, soaring as high as No. 4 this season in the WTA tennis rankings.

Off the court – on the marketing front – she has the same potential. Maybe more.

“It’s very, very rare to find a Japanese-born female athlete who appeals to an international audience,” said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert and creative director at Baker Street Advertising in San Francisco, California.

Williams topped the Forbes list of the highest-earning female athletes this year at US$18mil (RM75mil), almost all endorsements.

Osaka appears to be the right woman in the right sport at the right time with the draw to overtake Williams.

“What’s more, tennis, especially women’s tennis, is a sport that lends itself to a broad variety of sponsors: sporting goods, health and beauty, fashion, lifestyle, travel, personal care, you name it,” Dorfman said.

“And the sport’s international following brings with it a large, loyal and affluent fan base.

“All the more reason why so many companies are lining up to sign her up.”

The big question is: Can she keep this up? Much has happened very quickly for her, notes former tennis star Chris Evert.

“You know, it’s going to be life-changing for her and very, very important,” Evert said.

“From what I see, she is very humble and from what I see, her parents are very humble people.

“Hopefully they won’t go Hollywood on us. We don’t want that to happen.”

Osaka’s multicultural background – Japanborn but raised in the US by a Haitian-American father and a Japanese mother – adds to her wide appeal, endearing her to fans in Japan and elsewhere.

Her disarming charm, off and on the court, including how she handled the turmoil surrounding her win over Williams, is also winning people over.

“She appeals to the young and old, men and women, everyone,” said Shigeru Tanaka, adver- tising manager at Citizen, her sponsor since August.

Tokyo-based Citizen Watch Co’s US$700 (RM3,000) Naomi Osaka watch is selling out at stores in Japan, thanks to the exposure it got on her wrist at the US Open.

Citizen was quick to take advantage of her Grand Slam win, taking out a one-third page ad in the Yomiuri newspaper’s extra edition report of her win.

Companies won’t say how much her contracts are worth but they tend to be written so that if she keeps winning, her earnings will keep going up.

If one company won’t pay, another will just snatch her up, marketing experts say.

Although Japanese baseball players like Ichiro and Shohei Ohtani are superstars, that sport doesn’t have the global appeal of tennis.

There are Olympians but their appeal tends to come and go every four years.

Japan is “just starving for a star”, Evert said. — AP