Cryptocurrencies have now caught the attention of tennis superstar Naomi Osaka whose interest was spurred by all the noise around meme currency Dogecoin on her Twitter feed.
“I was actually just talking with my agent about cryptocurrencies,” Osaka said in an interview to Bloomberg. “I know that online, everything is getting bigger. I remember reading about Dogecoin … there’s going to be something new and interesting that’s going to pop up.”
The 23-year-old Grand Slam champion doubled down on non-fungible tokens (NFT) as she launched the second bout of NFT offering, a Preseason Access Pass Collection which will grant the holders VIP access to Autograph’s first limited-edition Naomi Osaka.
Autograph is an NFT platform that brings together brands and big names from sports, entertainment and culture to create digital collection.
In April, Osaka along with her sister had dropped a six-piece collection of art called “The Colors of Naomi Osaka” which raised nearly $600,000 for Naomi’s foundation, The Play Academy.
“As athletes, our career isn’t that long, and so I just like being very smart with it,” Osaka said. “I like when my agent tells me there’s opportunities. And in a weird way, I like to fail a little bit because it makes you understand what didn’t work and why.”
Osaka rose rapidly through the ranks of the tennis world–winning a WTA tour match at the age of 16. She had made it to the WTA top 50 by 2016 and was also named the ‘Newcomer of the Year’.
Between 2018 and 2020, Osaka progressed further. She won four Grand Slams during this period and also clinched the top spot on the WTA singles rankings.
She has also invested in salad chain Sweetgreen and the North Carolina Courage—a women’s professional soccer team, making her one of the few young tennis players putting out their own money.
She has also been in the news for speaking out on mental health.
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