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Naomi Osaka finds her voice in new Netflix docuseries

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Naomi Osaka is telling her story. 

In a new, eponymous Netflix docuseries, the tennis phenom lifts the curtain on her journey to international stardom. The three-part series, directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Garrett Bradley and co-executive produced by LeBron James, follows Osaka’s ascendance after her landmark victory over Serena Williams at the 2018 U.S. Open.

Premiering July 16, Bradley’s refreshingly intimate documentary drops just ahead of Osaka’s return to her sport at the Tokyo Olympics, where she will represent her home country of Japan.

After choosing to withdraw from the French Open in May to preserve her mental health — later announcing she would also be skipping Wimbledon — the world No. 2 has since revealed that she has “suffered long bouts of depression” since winning the 2018 U.S. Open, her first Grand Slam. Although the series does not touch on the current moment, it does quietly color in Osaka’s personal journey leading up to the present, showcasing her progression as both an athlete and a person.

Osaka’s decision to open up about her struggles has transformed the global conversation around athlete mental health and player rights. It also adds a level of depth to her Netflix series, as viewers watch Osaka navigate the wins and losses, as well as the media scrutiny and pressure of celebrity, culminating in the roller-coaster ride that was 2020.

The pressure to win

Like Osaka, the series emulates a warm calmness, or centeredness, even during absorbing retellings of the star’s most difficult times.

Much of the storytelling is left up to Osaka herself, captured through self-recorded videos, which provide candid insight into the tennis star’s life, while also serving as a contrast to the pre-packaged, post-match interviews in which we usually see her.

It’s in one of these selfie videos that Osaka reacts to the death of her mentor, Kobe Bryant, who tragically died during production of the docuseries. The moment feels even more crushing when Osaka reveals she had meant to reach out to the NBA icon to seek guidance amid her recent struggles. Interviews with Osaka’s mother, Tamaki, reveal the lasting gravity Bryant’s death had on Osaka’s emotional state, both on and off the court.

The pressure to win can make it lonely at the top. But in these quiet, private moments, Osaka is remarkably relatable.

Shaped by her heritage and family

“Naomi Osaka of Japan.” — Again and again, viewers hear this echoed as Osaka walks out to meet her competitors.

As the series continues, Osaka explains the significance of being a young woman of mixed heritage. Her father, Leonard Francois, is Haitian, while her mother, Tamaki Osaka, hails from Hokkaido, Japan.

“My dad has always been proud of where he comes from,” Osaka says. “Whenever I’m in hard situations, he’s always told me my ancestors were on a ship for 40 days. I use that as strength.”

Touching home videos of Osaka’s young parents pushing her stroller, as well as clips of Osaka with her younger sister, Mari, practicing their serves as children, help relay the tennis bond that continues to tie this multicultural family together.

Finding her voice

Over the past two years, Osaka has elegantly evolved from a reticent public figure into an outspoken social leader.

At the 2020 U.S. Open, she took a public stand for Black Lives Matter, wearing seven different masks to each of her seven matches. Each mask bore the name of a person of color lost to racial violence, including Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Elijah McClain. In order for Osaka to display every mask, she had to make the final. In New York, she came from behind to beat Victoria Azarenka and claim her fourth Grand Slam.

“I always had this pressure to maintain this squeaky image, but now, I don’t care what anyone else has to say,” Osaka says when explaining her newfound voice.

As the 2021 ESPY winner for Best Athlete in Women’s Sports, and with plans to return to the WTA circuit after the Tokyo Olympics, now is the perfect time to reflect on just how far Osaka has come. Still just 23 years old, Naomi Osaka showcases a star in transition, one who is still discovering herself on the biggest stage.

Seattle Storm Surges up the WNBA Standings Off Weekend Wins

Seattle Storm players Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike laugh during a 2025 WNBA game.
The Seattle Storm took down both the Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty last weekend. (Jeff Bottari/NBAE via Getty Images)

The biggest victors in the WNBA last weekend were the Seattle Storm, as the fifth-place contenders took down the last two league champions to record six wins in their last seven games.

The Storm first took down 2022 and 2023 champs Las Vegas 90-83 on Friday before toppling reigning title-winners New York 89-79 on Sunday.

Guard Skylar Diggins and forward Nneka Ogwumike powered Seattle's two games, putting up 44 and 51 points, respectively, over the weekend.

Forward Gabby Williams also helped fuel the Storm's weekend with two double-double performances.

Seattle is now just one game behind the similarly surging fourth-place Atlanta Dream, while trailing the red-hot No. 3 Phoenix Mercury by 1.5 games.

"Staying ready is what the group is," Storm head coach Noelle Quinn told reporters on Friday. "They're professionals, they're vets."

Teams at the top of the WNBA standings aren't the only squads that saw weekend success, as the No. 6 Golden State Valkyries snagged their second win in a row with Sunday's 87-63 thrashing of the last-place Connecticut Sun.

Despite registering Friday losses, both No. 7 Las Vegas and the No. 9 Washington Mystics finished the weekend on a high note, earning big Sunday wins over the No. 8 Indiana Fever and No. 12 Dallas Wings, respectively.

How to watch the Seattle Storm this week

The Storm will suit back up for another tricky WNBA test on Tuesday, when Seattle hosts the always-dangerous Indiana Fever at 10 PM ET.

The game will air live on NBA TV.

WNBA Injuries, Absences Fuel New York Liberty Losing Streak

New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart gestures questioningly during a 2025 WNBA game.
A short-staffed New York squad fell to Seattle on Sunday. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images)

The reigning champion New York Liberty battled through injury and absences over the weekend, narrowly retaining their second-place spot in the WNBA standings despite seeing their losing streak extend to two games with Sunday's 89-79 stumble against the Seattle Storm.

Already missing starting guard Leonie Fiebich, who is overseas competing at the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket tournament, the Liberty also played without center Jonquel Jones and guard Sabrina Ionescu.

While Ionescu is day-to-day with a neck issue, Jones will miss four to six weeks of action due to an ankle injury, the team announced on Saturday.

Despite dropping three of their last four matchups, the champs appear to be taking their recent downturn in stride.

"This isn't going to be the hardest thing that we face all season," said forward Breanna Stewart after Sunday's loss. "We have to kind of embrace the adversity a little bit, whether it's we're down players or things happen in the middle of the game."

New York wasn't the only team in trouble this weekend, though, as the Indiana Fever followed up last Thursday's stumble against the Golden State Valkyries with an 89-81 Sunday loss to the Las Vegas Aces.

Fever guard Caitlin Clark is now one-for-17 from behind the arc in her last two games, as Indiana struggles to break out of their eighth-place standing.

How to watch the New York Liberty this week

New York will hope for added firepower in order to snap their losing streak on Wednesday, when they'll face a rising Golden State squad at 10 PM ET.

Coverage of the game will air live on WNBA League Pass.

Louisville Grabs Momentum as NWSL Races Into Midseason Break

Racing Louisville teammates celebrate a goal by Arin Wright during a 2025 NWSL match.
Racing Louisville enters the midseason NWSL break at No. 7 on the table. (Jeff Dean/NWSL via Getty Images)

The NWSL is officially taking a breather, with the league kicking off the 2025 extended summer break after a roller-coaster weekend slate.

With half the of the 26-match regular season in the books, the No. 1 Kansas City Current extended their lead on the NWSL table to a towering eight points after defeating No. 11 Angel City 1-0 on Friday.

Helping balloon Kansas City's lead was No. 7 Racing Louisville, who kept No. 2 Orlando from claiming any points by securing a 2-0 upset win over the Pride on Friday.

With wins in five of their last seven matches, Louisville's refreshed roster has Racing entering the 2025 summer break with a 6-5-2 NWSL record, as the 2021 expansion side zeros in on a franchise-first playoff run.

"It's all about us. We're not really focused on the other team like we did a little last year," said midfielder Taylor Flint. "What are we going to do — what's our identity? I think that's a huge part of how we've been winning all these games."

On the other end of the table, the bottom four NWSL teams — Angel City, the No. 12 Houston Dash, No. 13 Chicago Stars, and No. 14 Utah Royals — will be looking for a major midseason reboot, after none managed to register a single win in the last five matchdays.

"We go from here, we break now, recharge, and we will be a very difficult opponent for a lot of teams in the second part of the season. That is our target now," said Angel City head coach Alexander Straus after Friday's loss.

There's still a lot left in 2025 NWSL play, with skidding teams banking on fresh starts while surging squads prepare to hit the ground running as soon as the season picks back up in August.

Australian Golfer Minjee Lee Wins KPMG Women’s PGA Championship

Minjee Lee holds the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship trophy after her win.
Minjee Lee won the third major tournament title of her career on Sunday. (Darren Carroll/PGA of America via Getty Images)

Australian golfer Minjee Lee came out on top at the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship, lifting the third major tournament trophy of her career on Sunday.

Entering the final round atop the leaderboard, Lee never relinquished the lead, finishing the tournament a solid three strokes ahead of the competition.

"I definitely was nervous starting the day," the 29-year-old acknowledged following her win. "I looked calm, but not as calm as everybody thinks."

The win earned Lee both an 18-spot rankings boost to world No. 6 and a $1.8 million cut of the event's $12 million prize pool.

Finishing the 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship just behind Lee in a second-place tie were 21-year-old Thai pro and new world No. 29 Chanettee Wannasaen and 24-year-old US standout and new No. 49 Auston Kim. Each took home $944,867 thanks to their four-day performances.

Kim, in particular, cobbled together a massive comeback run, chipping away at her nine-stroke deficit entering the competition's final round to claim the best finish of her young career.

"I'm very proud of what I did," the LPGA Tour sophomore said afterwards. "Obviously, the result was really good, but I'm really happy how I handled myself, my emotions, all the adversity. The course is playing really, really tough, but I feel like this week my team and I were very locked in."

Notably, the tournament's top three finishers were the only participants to finish below par, as the field struggled with a punishing week of both Texas heat and windier-than-usual conditions.

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