Naomi Osaka explains how Billie Jean King and Serena Williams inspired her to invest in NWSL team

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Naomi Osaka looking pleased

Naomi Osaka took a big cue from Billie Jean King and Serena Williams when she opted to invest in National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) club, the North Carolina Courage.

Three-time Grand Slam winner Osaka decided to add her star power to the Courage as she became a part owner of the North Carolina outfit with an investment.

She follows in the footsteps of King and Williams’ daughter, Olympia, who are part owners of sports franchises in North America. King owns a stake in MLB side Los Angeles Dodgers while Olympia is a part owner Angel City FC, who will join the NWSL in 2022.

“I’ve been seeing this sort of ongoing thing where other athletes are investing in other sports,” Osaka said. “I always thought it was really cool.

“Billie Jean King texts me sometimes, so I was getting inspired from her. I remember reading in an article that Serena’s daughter invested in a soccer team, too. I thought that maybe that’s a really good direction to go.

“As for choosing North Carolina, it’s because I visited there quite a couple of times because of my boyfriend’s (rapper YBN Cordae) family, and he was born there.”

And she is certainly investing in a team with pedigree as the Courage won the NWSL Champions in 2018 and 2019, but besides being an owner Osaka also wants to train with the team.

“I feel like definitely, I’ll be able to go down there and watch a couple of games,” the 23-year-old said.

“For me, the biggest thing I’m excited about, I really want to try to train with them. I think it’s always really fun to train with different athletes and see what they’re better than me at. I’m sure there’s a lot of things that they’re better than me at.”

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Naomi Osaka

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