Following her first top-10 win in four years, Naomi Osaka honored one of the biggest influences in her career during her post-match press conference.
The former world No. 1 women’s tennis star wore a black Kobe Bryant jersey into the press room at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after she took down 10th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 on the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Bryant had taken Osaka, 26, under his wing before his January 2020 death, and the tennis star has been very open about the impact his mentorship had on her in the four years since his passing.
“I think for me I always wear Kobe jerseys after matches and practices because I feel like a little bit, like, I can kind of keep his spirit with me,” Osaka told reporters on Tuesday.
“I think for me, I always wear Kobe [Bryant] jerseys after matches and practices because I feel a little bit like I can kind of keep his spirit with me.”
Naomi Osaka on wearing the Lakers legend’s jersey 💯
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 27, 2024
It was five years earlier on the same court that Bryant sat in Osaka’s box to watch her compete in the second round of the 2019 U.S. Open when she defeated Poland’s Magda Linette.
Osaka, the two-time U.S Open winner, admitted Tuesday night that she was shocked that Bryant had shown up to support her during that match.
“I honestly remember being a little bit in disbelief that he was coming specifically to watch my match. Just to feel that support was unreal,” Osaka recalled.
The jersey appeared to be the same one she wore during a mixed doubles exhibition match last Tuesday alongside Nick Kyrigios, who also sported a yellow No. 8 Lakers jersey on the court.
That tribute came just days before what would have been the NBA superstar’s 46th birthday.
Osaka’s jersey was a black Lakers jersey with a No. 24 on the back and No. 8 on the front.
Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on Jan. 26, 2020, along with his 13-year daughter, Gianna, and seven other people.
Osaka’s win on Tuesday came in her first U.S. Open match in two years and 13 months after she gave birth to her daughter, Shai.
The unseeded Osaka was overcome with emotion after the victory.
She will now face Karolína Muchová in the second round.
