By Ruiti He
Naomi Osaka, one of the biggest stories in the Olympics, has a new Barbie doll inspired by her. The doll was released before the Olympics in Tokyo. Her large fan base drove Mattel to release a doll based off of Naomi.
The first pictures of the doll were posted on Instagram, 10 days before the Olympics opening ceremony in Japan. “I really hope every child is reminded that they can be and do anything,” she posted. “This is really seeing a dream of mine coming to life, having your own Barbie and potentially seeing kids playing with it. Omg.”
The famous tennis player also informed that the outfit the doll is wearing was the same that she wore during the Australian Open in 2020. The doll wears a Nike dress and holds a Yonez tennis racquet.
Before this doll, she hads been in a limited Barbie in 2019 for the 60th anniversary for the brand. Naomi had said that she preferred the new one over the limited one. “It’s such an honour to be part of the Barbie Role Model series, and to remind young girls that they can make a difference in the world,” Osaka said in the media statement. “I want young girls everywhere to feel empowered to dream big and to know that if they believe in themselves that anything is possible!”
Naomi Osaka has been in the news for withdrawing from the two matches because of mental health concerns. However, she is getting ready to return to the competition at the Olympics on July 23. She said that the former US first lady and Michael Phelps were two who supported her after she withdrew from the French open.
In an essay for Time magazine’s Olympic preview, the swimmer had said that by speaking up, she could’ve saved a life. “If that’s true, then it was all worth it,” Osaka said of the controversy that followed her withdrawal from the French Open, where she was fined $15,000 for failing to do mandatory media conferences. The tennis player believed that the media conferences after matches were messing with her mental health. In the essay she said that the format was “out of date and in need of a refresh.”
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