Following her first top-10 win in four years, Naomi Osaka paid tribute to one of the players who has most influenced her career during her post-match press conference.
The former world number one in women’s tennis wore a black Kobe Bryant jersey in the press room of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after defeating 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in straight sets 6-3, 6-2 on the court at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Bryant had taken 26-year-old Osaka under his wing before his death in January 2020, and the tennis star has spoken very openly about the impact his mentorship has had on her in the four years since his death.
“I think I always wear Kobe jerseys after games and practices because I feel like I can keep his spirit with me a little bit,” Osaka told reporters on Tuesday.
Five years earlier, Bryant sat in the same seat in Osaka’s box and watched her defeat Poland’s Magda Linette in the second round of the 2019 US Open.
Osaka, the two-time US Open champion, admitted Tuesday night that she was shocked that Bryant showed up during the match to support her.
“I honestly remember being a little bit incredulous that he had come to watch my match. To feel that support was just incredible,” Osaka recalled.
The jersey appeared to be the same one she wore last Tuesday in a mixed doubles exhibition match alongside Nick Kyrigios, who also wore a yellow Lakers No. 8 jersey on court.
This honor came just days before the NBA superstar’s 46th birthday.
Osaka’s jersey was a black Lakers jersey with the number 24 on the back and the number 8 on the front.
Bryant died on January 26, 2020, along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California.
Osaka’s victory on Tuesday came in her first US Open match two years and 13 months after the birth of her daughter Shai.
The unseeded Osaka was overwhelmed with emotion after the victory.
In the second round she will now face Karolína Muchová.
