Naomi Osaka reversed her first round loss at last year’s Australian Open with a victory over Caroline Garcia of France on Monday. But the tennis star had something more important weighing heavy on her mind.
The single mom admitted she struggled to focus on the tennis match while disaster is just a few blocks from her front door back home in California.
While other stars have lost everything in the fires, Naomi thought about the one keepsake she could save that meant the most to her.
Naomi, 27, revealed she sent a friend to her house to save her daughter’s birth certificate. Naomi’s daughter, Shai, was born in July 2023. She travels everywhere with her mom. Naomi parted ways with Shai’s father, aspiring rapper Cordae, in 2024.
“It is really difficult for me. I think it’s tougher now because I find my home is more of a home because I have memories with my daughter,” she said. “There’s so many things, keepsakes and stuff like that. Obviously you can’t hoard them all when you’re asking them to go to your house and just grab stuff.”
She continued: “So it is really tough in that sense. I’m not there, so I don’t know how bad it is or how bad it’s going to get. But I think the biggest thing that I am grateful for is that everyone in my family is safe.”
Naomi won’t go back to Los Angeles if she loses her home in the wildfires. She said she will stay in Australia and hopefully win the tennis tournament.
“I don’t think I’ll go back to LA immediately after. I don’t feel like it’s safe enough to go back there. It’s kind of a little bit in a limbo, but also motivating me to hopefully stay here as long as I can.”
"I had someone go and get my daughter's birth certificate"
Osaka shares her response and a message of support to LA following her first round victory ??#AusOpen | @laurarobson5 pic.twitter.com/A32bFZ1XZj
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 13, 2025
Naomi is among the celebrities concerned about losing their homes as wildfires ravage entire neighborhoods in Southern California.
The list of celebrities who lost their homes in the wildfires include Beyonce’s mom Tina Knowles, Lakers coach JJ Redick, Clippers star Kawhi Leonard, Jhene Aiko, Paris Hilton, Ricki Lake, Mel Gibson, DDG, Melissa Rivers, Anna Faris, Adrien Brody, Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Eugene Levy, Jeff Bridges, Candy Spelling, Hunter Biden, and more.
