US Open star gave up American citizenship then won 2 Grand Slams

Naomi Osaka gave up her American citizenship for one key reason (Image: Getty)

Naomi Osaka's desire to represent Japan at the Olympics meant the tennis star was forced to renounce her US citizenship. The 28-year-old - who has won two Grand Slam titles since making the decision - has played under the flag of Japan for the entirety of her career despite having lived most of her life in the United States.

Osaka, who has competed in the US Open this month, was born in Japan and was given her mother's family name. Alongside her older sister Mari and parents Tamaki and Leonard, the family relocated to New York when she was just four years old.

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Her start in tennis came under the tutelage of her Haitian father, who alongside Osaka's mother opted for her to represent Japan in the sport. Tamaki told the Wall Street Journal: "We made the decision that Naomi would represent Japan at an early age. She was born in Osaka and was brought up in a household of Japanese and Haitian culture.

"Quite simply, Naomi and her sister Mari have always felt Japanese so that was our only rationale. It was never a financially motivated decision nor were we ever swayed either way by any national federation." Osaka admitted she agreed with the decision, given her lack of connection with being American.

"My dad thought that since I grew up around my mom and I have a lot of Japanese relatives, I don’t know," she told the New York Times. "I don’t necessarily feel like I’m American. I wouldn’t know what that feels like." While she was previously a citizen of both Japan and the US, she was forced to relinquish her US citizenship in October 2019.

All four of Naomi Osaka's major titles were won playing under the Japanese flag (Image: Getty)

She would not have been allowed to play for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 because of their laws that require dual citizens to choose between their two citizenships by their 22nd birthday. Osaka would have been at risk of losing her Japanese nationality if she hadn't made a decision. Japan's Ministry of Justice says:

"A person who possesses Japanese and a foreign nationality (a person of dual nationality) shall choose one nationality before he or she reaches 22 years of age. Or, within two years after the day when he or she acquired the second nationality if he or she acquired such nationality after the day when he or she reached 20 years of age.

"If he or she fails to choose his or her nationalities, he or she may lose Japanese nationality. So, please don't forget choosing your nationality." While she won the first of her two US Open and Australian Open titles as a dual citizen, her second triumphs at the events in 2020 and 2021 came solely as a Japanese citizen.