US Open champion Naomi Osaka at a glance

Naomi Osaka has become the first Japanese player to win a grand slam singles title after a straight-sets win over Serena Williams in the US Open final.

A brief glance at the career of Naomi Osaka, who defeated Serena Williams to win the US Open title and become Japan's first grand slam title winner.

Born: October 16, 1997 in Osaka, Japan (age 20)

Grand Slam titles (1): US Open 2018

* Won her first grand glam title after victory over 23-time major champion Serena Williams.

* Became Japan's first grand slam champion and only the second Asian to win a major after China's Li Na

EARLY LIFE

* Born to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father, Osaka grew up idolising Serena Williams.

* Turned professional in 2013 aged 15 and moved to New York when she was three years old.

* Made her first main-draw WTA tour at the 2014 Bank of the West Classic. Osaka beat Australian Samantha Stosur in the first round before losing to Andrea Petkovic.

CAREER TO DATE

* Made her grand slam debut as a qualifier at the Australian Open in 2016, beating 18th-seeded Elina Svitolina in the second round but lost to former champion Victoria Azarenka in the next round.

* Cracked the world top 100 for the first time in April 2016 (and the top 50 later in the year). Was named 2016 WTA "Newcomer of the Year" after making third-round appearances at three Grand Slams and reaching her first WTA final.

* Won her first WTA title in March 2018 in Indian Wells, beating Maria Sharapova, Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep along the way.

* She also beat Serena Williams the following week at Miami.

* She has moved up to a career high ranking of world No.7 after her victory at the US Open.


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2 min read

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Source: AAP



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