.JPG "Naomi Osaka celebrates after match point against Belinda Bencic in a women's singles semifinal in the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium March 31, 2022. u00e2u20acu201d Reuters pic")
NEW YORK, May 12 — Four-times major winner Naomi Osaka is breaking away from IMG to launch her own sports agency, Evolve, according to media reports on Wednesday.
The four-time Grand Slam champion’s longtime agent Stuart Duguid has also left IMG to start up the new agency with the 24-year-old from Japan, Sportico reported.
Former number one Osaka appeared to confirm the news by retweeting an article about the move with three rocketship emojis.
She also tweeted out a compilation of clips from her earlier playing days in which she discussed her career aspirations with the caption “Hey kid, you’ve come a long way and even though there’s been some bumps on the road I hope you know you’re doing amazing.”
In one of the clips, she prophetically discussed what she might be doing were she not a tennis player.
“I just like sports, so maybe (I would be) like an agent in the end,” she said. — Reuters
