"Big shoutout to Frances" - Osaka thanks Tiafoe for backing her latest initiative

in 2020, Naomi Osaka announced the launch of her academy in Tokyo, Japan that subsequently expanded to to Los Angeles and Haiti.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has partnered with Nike and Laureus Sport to expand her initiative toward increasing opportunities for young girls to take up the sport. It is a grassroots-level initiative, that aims to nurture talented young players. Recently, the academy launched its website to further increase its influence. During the launch of her website, she had a fellow player accompanying her at the academy.

Frances Tiafoe made his presence felt at the academy during the launch of the Play Academy’s website. The American star spent quality time with the kids, sharing his experiences on the big stage. Further, Naomi took to Instagram and posted a story, expressing gratitude toward Tiafoe for taking his time out for this initiative.

She said, “Big shoutout to Frances Tiafoe for pulling up.”

Speaking about the academy, Naomi said,

“Play Academy with Naomi Osaka (PANO) is a program I created through a partnership between Nike and Laureus Sport for Good with the goal of changing girls’ lives through play and sport — something that tennis did for me growing up. The program provides grants and capacity building training and speaks to encouraging positive and inclusive play, especially for girls in sport.”