Naomi Osaka Documentary

 

Naomi Osaka is a 3 part Netflix documentary series that shows the evolution of a young tennis star dealing with the struggles of being a naturally introverted person in a competitive sport, and trying to figure out how to handle fame and the confidence to use her voice for good.

I'm glad this came out on Netflix and not another service provider where I would have to wait a week for each part. Parts 1 & 2 were a bit repetitive. It was a lot of the footage that showed how reserved Naomi was. I thought it was interesting that she talked a lot about being nervous and socially awkward because of her homeschooled upbringing. You see a lot of shots of her looking sad or being nervous mixed in with photo shoots where she looks awkward and like she doesn't want to be there. You also see how she handled the ups and downs of her tennis career and the struggles she had early on with mental toughness. 

I probably wouldn't have made it to part 3 if it weren't for the ability to binge, which would have been a terrible mistake because part 3 is where this documentary and Osaka come full circle in finding her voice. You also see her start to gain more confidence in her convictions as she takes the lead in her life and in her happiness. 

In the end I thought that this documentary was just okay. It definitely gave me a more well-rounded understanding of Osaka and her family dynamic but I still think they could have gone deeper. Therefore, this is not something I’d watch again but wasn’t a complete waste of time.