Naomi Osaka may have gone on to win four Grand Slams in her already-decorated career, but for her sister it has been a harder road. Mari has decided to quit the sport to focus on other projects. She made her WTA singles debut when she was handed a wildcard at the Miami Open in March 2019, before going out to Whitney Osuigwe 6-2, 6-4 in the first round.
Mari, ranked 340 in the WTA rankings, predominantly played her tennis on the ITF circuit.
Mari has only played once this year, falling to Sarah Hamner in the first round of qualifying in straight sets at an ITF tournament in Georgia, USA on January 25.
“I am retired from playing tennis,” she wrote on Instagram.
IT WAS A JOURNEY WHICH I DIDN’T ENJOY ULTIMATELY BUT I’M GRATEFUL FOR ALL THE MEMORIES AND SUPPORT I’VE GAINED AND RECEIVED OVER THE YEARS FROM THE SPORT.
“I’m moving on now so you can look forward to new fun projects upcoming in the future.”
Thiem keen to dethrone Nadal at Roland Garros
Croft ‘deeply shocked by the viciousness’ of social media abuse
Her sister Naomi, who has won four Grand Slam titles, spoke of the importance of Mari’s support for her own tennis career last month.
“For me, that’s the biggest thing,” the world number two told reporters at the Australian Open.
“I always told myself, if I was able to give back to my family and the way that they’ve given so many things up for me, that’s something that is the most important part.
SO, CLEARLY, FOR ME, I WOULDN’T BE HERE WITHOUT MY SISTER.
Naomi said Mari used to thrash her in practice matches when they were younger.
“Up until I was 15 she was 6-0-ing me, ridiculous,” Naomi told the New York Times in 2019.
“I don’t know what happened, maybe finally something clicked in my head, but for sure she was beating me. In the win-loss record, she’s up by like a million or something.”