Naomi Osaka will play her next Grand Slam as a mother.
The tennis star and her boyfriend, rapper Cordae, welcomed their first child, a girl, in Los Angeles, according to People. Both mother and daughter are “well”.
Cordae had unofficially revealed the news during a concert last weekend, telling the audience that her daughter, named Shai, was born a few days prior. Osaka revealed that her child would be a girl last month:
Osaka first announced her pregnancy in January after surprisingly dropping out of the 2023 Australian Open, pledging to return in time for the 2024 Australian Open. Her daughter who will arrive in July will give her five months to prepare and practice before the scheduled start of this tournament.
Even before she revealed her pregnancy, Osaka’s career was kind of on hiatus. The four-time Grand Slam champion had not competed in an event since the previous September, when she had to withdraw from the 2022 Toray Pan Pacific Open in September due to abdominal pain. Prior to that, she had only won two full matches since reaching the final of the 2022 Miami Open in April while struggling with injuries.
Osaka’s last win in a WTA-sanctioned tournament remains the 2021 Australian Open.
Despite these struggles, Osaka remains a powerful player in the business world. She was named the world’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes last year with an estimated income of $59.2 million in 2022. Her portfolio includes a stake in NWSL’s North Carolina Courage, a skincare line the skin, a media company in partnership with LeBron James and his own sports agency.