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Sports

This is Naomi: Tennis superstar opens up about her life

Osaka shares childhood memories, karaoke favorites and thoughts on her roots

Japan's Naomi Osaka poses with her team after winning the Australian Open in February.    © Reuters

I was born in Osaka in 1997 to a Japanese mother and a Haitian father. Japan has always been in my heart and soul.

My memories of Japan in those early days are hazy as we moved from Osaka to New York when I was 3 years old. However, I do hold some vivid ones, for example walking in the park with my mom, and eating nikuman (steamed meat buns) from 7-Eleven. In fact, we used to walk around Osaka's Utsubo Park, which turned out to be the venue where I won the tournament for the first time in Japan in 2019.

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