The Olympic cauldron was ignited by Naomi Osaka, the world No. 2 tennis player and a social justice and mental health champion, during the Tokyo 2020 Games’ opening ceremony on Friday.
Osaka, a 23-year-old Grand Slam winner who represents Japan, was unveiled as the last torchbearer, igniting the Olympic flame in front of an eerily deserted stadium in a dramatic finish to the brilliant opening ceremony.
For the ceremony, the celebrity had a long red braid in an updo, and she was dressed in a red and white uniform that matched the colors of the Japanese flag.
The opening ceremonies of the Olympics are normally held in front of a large crowd, but in Tokyo, spectators were kept away. Instead, many people spent the day lining the gates of the city’s National Stadium, while others gathered outside to protest.
The ceremony was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and the US First Lady Jill Biden. Despite the venue’s capacity of 68,000, only 950 individuals attended the inaugural ceremony, according to Tokyo 2020 organizers. Only 206 of the 206 participating delegations were formally welcomed to the Games.
Since she was 14 years old, Osaka, who has a Haitian father and a Japanese mother, has represented the host nation in international competition. She was born in Japan, but her family relocated to New York when she was three years old.
Osaka had to give up her American citizenship before turning 22 in order to compete for Japan in the Tokyo Olympics, her maiden Games.
Osaka has won four Grand Slam titles, the first of which she won at the 2018 U.S. Open, making her the first Japanese woman to win a Grand Slam singles championship. Osaka became the first Asian tennis player to be ranked No. 1 in the world after winning back-to-back Slams in late 2018 and early 2019, the US Open and the Australian Open.
Her global popularity has resulted in significant financial success. According to Forbes, Osaka broke her own record for the highest-paying year for a female athlete from May 1, 2020 to May 2, 2021, earning $60 million from sponsorships and prize money combined.
From May 2019 through May 2020, Osaka established the record, surpassing Serena Williams’ previous high of $37 million.
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