All sports live and breathe for fresh talent and in Naomi Osaka it appears as if the WTA Tour has unearthed a gem.
For many the name will be new, but that won't be the case for long as the Haitain-American-Japanese professional tennis player continues her rapid rise towards the top of the game.
There is a case to be made that the tennis world over the past 15 years as been stuck on repeat, with legendary names like Serena Williams, Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic dominating the sport with a vice like grip. Of course, those names deserve all the plaudits they have have received but it does now feel like we are ready for some new personalities to emerge on the circuit, and potentially Osaka is the player to lead the revolution.
On the court, Osaka has a game which is going to win her an army of adoring fans. Power and athleticism are the two pillars of her arsenal with the ability to hit anyone off the court almost second to none. Fluent in Japanese and English, the 20-year-old is a dream from a marketing point of view and it appears as if she is edging closer becoming the headline star of a new breed of young players on the Ladies tour.
Osaka made the big breakthrough of her career last week when winning the Indian Wells title, a tournament many consider to be the biggest of the year outside of the four Majors. Maria Sharapova, Agnieszka Radwanksa, Karolina Pliskova, Simona Halep and Daria Kasatkina were all swatted aside on the way to the title, and all eyes will now be on the Japanese star to see if she can continue the rapid rise.
The early signs are good.
Drawn against the returning Serena Williams in the opening round of the Miami Open in the first match since winning the biggest title of her career, it would have been the perfect opportunity for the young star to wilt under pressure. Not a bit of it.
Up against the greatest of all time on one of the biggest show courts in the sport, Osaka picked up the win in straight sets in the style of a seasoned pro. It is fair to say that Serena Williams was nowhere near her best as she continues her return from having a baby but even taking that into account, playing the legendary American is always a tough moment for young players.
At the time of writing, Osaka is up to a career high ranking of 22 and that could well continue to improve over the next few weeks with new found confidence on her side. A place in the top ten by the end of 2018 is perhaps a short-term achievable goal and given the way the rankings work, that looks a distinct possibility.
The next step in the career of any young tennis star is to make an impression at a Grand Slam and it will be fascinating to track Osaka's progress over the next 18 months at the quartet of major events. A 4th round appearance at the Australian Open back in January was a good start to the Grand Slam season for the Indian Wells Champion, and similar results at the next three Slams are now expected.
A note of caution is always wise, and particularly in tennis where history is littered with young talents who failed to live up to their potential, especially with the pressure now on following her big break through in California. However, the early signs are encouraging both on and off court for Naomi Osaka and there is every chance that Tennis has found the new young superstar to take the game into the next era.
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