Japan’s Naomi Osaka defeated Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova in Australian Open 2019 women’s singles final to clinch her second consecutive Grand Slam title. The 21-year-old became the first-ever Asian tennis player (male or female) to achieve the world number one singles’ ranking. Osaka also became the youngest female world number one since Caroline Wozniacki (20) in 2010.

A year ago, Osaka was ranked World No 72 and was still chasing her first WTA title. Fast forward 365 days and Osaka has won two grand slam titles and has climbed the top of the charts. Osaka had become the first Japanese player to win a grand slam title at the 2018 US Open.

Did You Know?

• Japan is a stratovolcanic archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, and Shikoku, which make up about ninety-seven percent of Japan’s land area and often are referred to as home islands.
• Japan benefits from a highly skilled and educated workforce; it has among the world’s largest proportion of citizens holding a tertiary education degree.
• Emperor – Akihito
• Crown Prince – Naruhito
• Prime Minister – Shinzo Abe