Tennis star Naomi Osaka says her shyness ruined encounter with Jay-Z

The athlete says she's going to try to be more outgoing from now on.

May 7, 2020

Naomi Osaka is an international tennis superstar but even she struggles with nervousness in the presence of icons and that’s exactly what happened when she met Jay-Z.

The 22-year-old tennis phenom let it be known on Twitter Monday that the time had come for her to stop being shy as it was limiting her opportunities. Osaka recalled meeting rap legend and mogul Shawn “Jay Z” Carter who attempted to strike up a conversation with the tennis darling. However, she was just too shy to engage him.

I was standing next to Jay-Z once and he started talking to me but I got really nervous and started giving one word replies so he suddenly said, “Are you shy?”, and I said, “yeah”, and the convo came to a screeching halt. GOD WHYYYYYYYY ?? WHYYYYYYYY

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 5, 2020

“I could’ve shared so many ideas by now, I could’ve had convos with so many different people. All the things I could’ve learned [face palm emoji] but no I’m over here actually putting my own limiter on myself,” she posted.

Osaka, who is quarantining with her boyfriend, 22-year-old rapper YBN Cordae, says she’s now going to make a shift in her personality. She’s not going to be all out there but will be making more of an effort to engage with others, we assume once the pandemic passes and social distancing is no longer required.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_vH5i1phBt/

“I’m probably still gonna be relatively quiet but I won’t pass on opportunities to speak my mind anymore,” she finished.

Fans will be able to learn much more about the Haitian-Japanese star when a docuseries about her life hits Netflix. A title and date have not yet been released but Variety reported in February that the documentary will cover Osaka’s pivotal year from the 2019 US Open, on tour as and she prepares for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (though the pandemic has delayed the Games to 2021).

Osaka, who emigrated from Japan to the U.S. as a child, will also use the series to showcase her journey to self-discovery, her multi-cultural identity and her newfound fame.

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