Naomi Osaka, tennis sensation is not your typical sports personality, the women has the the winning streak on and off the court and she bullish about it. The business move that Osaka and her management team makes you can tell that she’s thinking post her tennis career already, while some of her mates are still chilling doing nothing.
According to a recent feature profile interview with Boardroom, Osaka topped all female-identifying athletes in earnings, bringing in an estimated $60 million in 2022 alone. For those keeping score, she went 14-9 on the court in ‘22, banking just over $1.1 million in prize money. Still, the superstar smashed the competition with regard to business endeavours.
Apart from taking part in the court, In May 2022 Naomi also co-founded Evolve, a sports agency with her business partner and longtime agent Stuart Duguid and his wife Carly.
“This is all Naomi’s own collection,” fellow Evolve co-founder Stuart Duguid told Boardroom at the shoot. “When we signed this deal, it certainly was not to be a model; it was to be [more] involved. It’s a business in itself and those are the things that get her excited.”
“Naomi came to us,” Carly Duguid, co-founder of Evolve, told Boardroom of the company’s origin story.
Caught off guard, Stuart didn’t have a good answer. Equally, he didn’t have the desire to depart from the place that helped shape his own career. Nevertheless, he leaned into the desires of his client as any good agent would.
“Naomi looked around and saw LeBron, KD, and Tom Brady,” Stuart says. “She said, ‘Why can’t I be like all these male superstars?’”
“It was never my ambition to start my own company,” says Stuart. “It’s not easy. The day-to-day management used to be a full-time job. Now, it’s probably 30% of what I do.”
“It was never my ambition to start my own company,” says Stuart. “It’s not easy. The day-to-day management used to be a full-time job. Now, it’s probably 30% of what I do.”
“We’ve gotten to this point by really focusing on her,” says Carly. “Her world has completely opened up. She can do anything she wants.”
Besides tennis, Osaka enjoys investing. start businesses and doing deals.
“The most interesting aspect of the business for me is investing,” Osaka told Boardroom. “I’ve learned a ton in the last 18 months. That’s probably the area where I’m most engaged.”
