MELBOURNE, Australia — Naomi Osaka, an 18-year-old tennis player from Japan, faced a room overflowing with Japanese journalists on Tuesday after beating Donna Vekic in the first round of the Australian Open for her first-ever win at a Grand Slam tournament.
As is customary at news conferences at Melbourne Park, the moderator called for questions in English first. Osaka looked alarmed, then asked sheepishly, "English only?"
She was serious — she is still learning Japanese.
Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan's second city, to a Haitian father and Japanese mother. Her family moved to the United States when she was young and she now trains predominantly in Florida with her father, though she also spends some time in Japan with coaches from the Japanese Tennis Association.