Naomi Osaka: Rise

Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka, born in 1997, is the highest-paid female athlete in the world and has won four Grand Slam titles by the age of 23. The three-episode docuseries, produced by Netflix and directed by Garrett Bradley, offers an intimate look into her life, exploring the successes and tough decisions that have made her a global star and a young woman facing the pressures placed on her by the outside world. Filmed over two pivotal years, from 2019 to 2021, Bradley follows Osaka as she refines her game, explores her roots, and becomes a tennis champion. From her victory at the 2018 U.S. Open to her defeat the following year, to her involvement in protests for George Floyd and Jacob Blake, Naomi Osaka uses her growing visibility to forge a personal and unique path, breaking away from imposed norms. Bradley portrays Osaka with great sensitivity, highlighting not only her athletic triumphs but also her personal challenges, such as balancing her private life with her career and her role as an icon of social change. Far from the rhetoric of traditional sports films, the series captures the Japanese tennis player through more nuanced and complex moments, emphasizing her honesty and reflections on profound themes such as identity and gender politics.