Japanese and women's tennis fans around the world have a new hero: Naomi Osaka, winner of this year's U.S. Women's Open tennis championship. Osaka is the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam title but her stunning victory has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding the treatment of Serena Williams, her opponent in the final. Osaka deserves better — the attention rightly belongs on her — but the match itself was a reminder of the double standards that mark women's sports and the behavior expected of women in society more generally.
Osaka, a 20-year-old biracial — her mother is Japanese, her father a Haitian — rising star on the tennis circle, outplayed Williams, her rival and her idol. She has had a meteoric career: She turned professional at 15, made her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in 2016 (where she lost in her third match), was named the Women Tennis Association's "Newcomer of the Year" in 2016, and claimed her first WTA title in March 2018 at Indian Wells. She is currently ranked 19 on the women's tour, although she was ranked 17th in July.
Last weekend's final was not Osaka's first match against Williams. She defeated Williams earlier this year, when Williams was just returning to the sport after giving birth to her daughter. This time, however, Osaka flat-out outplayed the 23-time Grand Slam winner. During her 6-2, 6-4 victory, she made just 14 unforced errors, converted four of five break point opportunities and saved five of six break points she faced. She outserved Williams — her fastest was clocked at 190.4 kph — with 73 percent first serves and, with deadly precision, returned every shot that Williams made.