Tennis superstar and Louis Vuitton‘s ambassador Naomi Osaka takes the cover of Vogue Japan‘s August 2021 edition lensed by fashion photographer Zoey Grossman. In charge of styling was Patti Wilson, who for the cover selected look from Louis Vuitton. Beauty is work of hair stylist Martin Christopher Harper, and makeup artist Autumn Moultrie.
The four-time Grand Slam champion announced yesterday that she is withdrawing from Wimbledon, her team provided the statement: “Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year. She is taking some personal time with friends and family. She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans.” Just few weeks back she also withdrew from Roland Garros following the news conference controversy – Naomi refused to participate in post-match conferences because negative questions and comments affected her mental health (she was fined $15,000).
After withdrawing from Roland Garros she posted the announcement on her social media: “The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that. Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted, and anyone that sees me at the tournaments will notice that I am often wearing headphones as that dulls my anxiety. Though the tennis press has always been kind to me (and I wanna apologize especially to all the cool journalists who I may have hurt), I am not a natural public speaker and get huge waves of anxiety before I speak to the world’s media. I get really nervous and find it stressful to always try to engage and give you the best answers I can.“
Photography © Zoey Grossman for Vogue Japan, discover more at vogue.co.jp
