“There aren’t really that many schools”: How Naomi Osaka turned her father’s Haitian roots into a family mission to help children, years before her tennis fame | International Sports News
Naomi Osaka’s connection to Haiti began long before she became a Grand Slam champion. Her father, Leonard “Maxime” Francois, returned to his hometown of Jacmel and started the Osaka Foundation with her mother, Tamaki Osaka, in 1999. The family built an education and sports centre for children in the community, creating a project that existed years before Naomi became a global tennis star.For Naomi, the foundation became more personal when she finally visited Haiti. Her first trip came in Oct. 2017. She returned in November 2018, just two months after winning her first Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Naomi Osaka saw her father’s legacy firsthand in Haiti
The Osaka Foundation began after Francois returned to Jacmel, where he wanted to help children in his community. The foundation says the family set aside 20 acres for the project and initially focused on tennis. It later developed into a centre built around both sport and education. Children receive access to schooling, food, housing and sports opportunities.Naomi had never visited Haiti before 2017. During her first trip, she visited her father’s hometown and met children connected to the family’s work.“I wanted to visit Haiti,” Osaka said about her first trip, explaining that she wanted to see her father’s homeland herself despite hearing negative comments about the country. She later said, “Haiti is a beautiful little country,” after experiencing the country firsthand.Her connection grew stronger during her Nov. 2018 return. By then, Osaka had become one of tennis’ biggest names after beating Serena Williams in the US Open final in Sept. 2018.The Miami Herald reported in March 2019 that the highlight of Osaka’s trip was visiting the IOA Center, the elementary school her parents had helped build in Jacmel. The family continued to provide funding, uniforms and supplies, while the school also unveiled a new wing during her visit.
Naomi Osaka’s tennis success helped extend the family’s work
Osaka later used one of her new commercial opportunities to support the centre. In March 2019, after becoming part of Barbie’s Sheroes collection, she said she would donate her Barbie partnership fee to the IOA Center.“I think that it’s really important because, especially in Haiti, there aren’t really that many schools,” Osaka said at Indian Wells in March 2019 while discussing the donation. She said the money would help expand the centre, with tennis courts also under consideration.That donation connected Osaka’s growing career directly to the project her parents had started two decades earlier.Her Haiti work later expanded beyond the family foundation. In Aug. 2021, after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Haiti, Osaka pledged her prize money from the Western & Southern Open to earthquake relief. She made the announcement before the tournament and said the devastation in her father’s country deeply affected her.The same personal connection also shaped her Play Academy work. In 2021, the program expanded to Haiti, where it partnered with local sports organisations to create more opportunities for girls.For Osaka, Haiti has remained tied to family, sport and the community her father chose to support. The work started in 1999, long before her first Grand Slam title, and later became something she could support with her own platform.
