By Steve & Tamami Laser
Things move fast on the tennis court and in the automotive world. Nissan has named 20-year-old tennis player Naomi Osaka its newest brand ambassador four days after her first Grand Slam championship at the U.S. Open women’s singles final in New York.
Osaka visited Nissan’s Global Headquarters today in Yokohama where the announcement of the new partnership was made by Asako Hoshino (above right), senior vice president, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
“This week has been a dream come to life, and I’m so honored to represent Japan and Nissan on the world stage,” said Osaka. “I was drawn to partner with Nissan because of its strong Japanese DNA and global competitive spirit. The brand is always challenging expectations, and I look forward to bringing its vision for driving excitement to new audiences around the world.”
Nissan says that as part of the partnership, Osaka will appear in global promotions and advertising for the automaker while Nissan plans to support her activities as a tennis player, including providing vehicles at her tour destinations.
“With a combination of grit and grace, Naomi Osaka is not afraid to take on the best tennis players of our time, and win,” said Hoshino. “This is the same spirit of performance that Nissan has embodied throughout our history – exemplified most recently by the Nissan LEAF, which defied the odds to become the best-selling electric vehicle in the world.”
Osaka became the first Japanese player to win a women’s singles Grand Slam. Born in Japan to a Japanese mother, Tamaki Osaka, and a Haitian-American father, Leonard “San” François, she moved with her family to the U.S. when she was three years old. Osaka lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., has dual Japanese and American citizenship, and competes for Japan.
News source and photos courtesy of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.
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