EARLY STARS The crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium roared The veteran and legend Serena Williams was in the 2018 US Open finals But Naomi Osaka the 20-year-old upstart from Japan was not about to be bowled over Osaka’s 120-mile-per-hour 193-km h serve was difficult to return even for the powerhouse Williams Point by point and game by game Osaka battled The young star placed her shots deep in the court keeping Williams on the run She moved Naomi Osaka reacts to winning a point during the 2018 US Open finals 5 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 1
the champion from corner to corner never allowing her a break At match point Osaka took a deep breath She appeared as calm as she’d been at the beginning of the match She tossed the ball in the air Her explosive serve carried deep into the corner of the service box Williams couldn’t return it Osaka had just beaten her hero in straight sets to win the US Open Tennis did not always feature such diversity among its competitors For many years it was a sport for white people Most players were upper-class too Proper attire and proper etiquette were among the most important elements of the sport But one of the most popular early stars wasn’t considered proper Suzanne Lenglen was far ahead of her time 6
