Naomi Osaka covers Allure magazine and says she'd be 'homeless' if she wasn't the best

According to Naomi Osaka, being ranked number two by the Women's Tennis Association isn't just about talent — it's about wanting to win the most. 

The 21-year-old covers the latest issue of Allure, and told the magazine that her success is just as much about drive and aspirations as skill — and it had to be, because she didn't exactly have a life backup plan.

'My parents weren't exactly the richest, so what am I going to do?' "I'm not really the smartest. I've been playing tennis my whole life, you know?' she said. 'So there's nothing I can imagine myself doing. It's either I have to be the best or I'm going to be homeless.'

That ambition — to be the best — is, according to Naomi, precisely what has made her the best. 

'There's a certain point where talent isn't useful anymore, and from there you've just got to want to win more than everyone else,' she said.

'I think that's something I noticed from an early age, so that's what I've been fortunate with. I mean, the way that I grew up and the circumstances that sort of surrounded me kind of forced me to think that way.'

Naomi first started playing at age three, around the same time she moved from where she was born in Japan to New York.

Though her parents first put a racket in her hands, she said, 'As I grew up, you know... I started thinking that those dreams, they're things that I really want to accomplish. So yeah, I think it was more like a push.' 

Now she's won a US Open and an Australian Open, and is next hoping to play for Japan in the Olympics.

But all her hard training has definitely taken a physical toll.

'I wake up in the morning and all of my bones crack. I don't think that's normal,' she said with a laugh.

The star also shared some of her beauty favorites with the magazine, saying that sunscreen is a must.

Her favorite products include Anessa Perfect UV, BareMinerals One Fine Line Micro Precision Eyeliner in Black, and Shiseido Eudermine Revitalizing Essence. 

She also admitted that 'new tennis balls' is her favorite non-perfume smell, and her weirdest beauty ritual is: 'I do my hair after I do my face, so my hair is always wet.'

While Allure didn't ask Naomi — for the millionth time — about her US Open win against Serena Williams in 2018, Serena herself was candid about the drama surrounding the match in a new essay for Harper's Bazaar.   

After an umpire penalized her for violating a coaching rule, Serena was given three more violations as she defended herself — becoming the headline of the contest event though Naomi took the win. 

In a personal essay, Serena wrote about her perspective from that day and why she prioritized apologizing to Naomi after the backlash that followed the match.

'I could not have been happier for her,' Serena wrote.  'As for me, I felt defeated and disrespected by a sport that I love — one that I had dedicated my life to and that my family truly changed, not because we were welcomed, but because we wouldn’t stop winning.'

'This debacle ruined something that should have been amazing and historic,' Serena wrote. 'Not only was a game taken from me but a defining, triumphant moment was taken from another player, something she should remember as one of the happiest memories in her long and successful career. 

'Days passed, and I still couldn’t find peace,' she went on. 'I started seeing a therapist. I was searching for answers, and although I felt like I was making progress, I still wasn’t ready to pick up a racket.'

Serena decided to contact Naomi and apologize for what went down between herself and the umpire on the tennis court. Sending the text message, Serena believed, was her way to 'move forward' from the match.

Source: Daily Mail

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