Naomi Osaka's recently defeated her childhood hero, the legendary Serena Williams, during the recent U.S. Open; a hard-fought battle to-be-sure, given William's reputation as a formidable and honorable competitor. In any case, Osaka walked away with the dub, no doubt feeling the adrenaline coursing. It's no wonder, given her pre-game soundtrack, a tradition informed by an athlete's superstitious nature. As it happens, Osaka spoke with People about her musical ritual, which involved bumping albums from two hip-hop legends.
“I listened to Nicki Minaj‘s new album [Queen],” reveals Osaka, who reportedly only listens to a single artist before hitting the court. An artist change only goes down if she loses a match. Still, it would appear that she could not resist the temptation of an unexpected Eminem album, and switched to Kamikaze as a result.
“Eminem dropped a new album [Kamikaze] so I was switching between those two," she reveals. "I’m genuinely more into hip-hop and rap.” Before the U.S. Open kicked off, Osaka was reportedly listening exclusively to Kendrick Lamar. Her soundtrack was altered upon losing to Poland's Magda Linette during the Washington Citi Open. In any case, it's nice to see an athletic champion holding it down for hip-hop.