Japan’s celebrations for Naomi Osaka’s fourth Grand Slam title went into orbit on Saturday, with an astronaut tweeting congratulations from the International Space Station.
Osaka’s triumph over Jennifer Brady in the Australian Open final was hailed in Japan, and beyond, as astronaut Soichi Noguchi wrote from space “Naomi Osaka, congratulations on the victory,” with a Gold-medal emoji.
Japan’s media said it brought prospects of a Gold medal at the coronavirus-delayed Tokyo Olympics “a big step closer”.
Major broadcasters flashed news of the 23-year-old’s latest Grand Slam win, which added to victories at the 2018 US Open, the 2019 Australian Open and the 2020 US Open.
“Osaka got a big step closer to winning the Gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics,” the Nikkan Sports daily said of the player, who is a leading face of the Games in her home nation.
“The Australian victory is a barometer for the Gold medal” at the Tokyo Games, where tennis matches are played on the same type of court, the newspaper said — calling Osaka “the queen of hard courts.”