"People are talking about the movie a lot, it's bringing attention to tennis" - Naomi Osaka shares why was 'pleasantly surprised' by 'Challengers'

Naomi Osaka recently stated that she was "pleasantly surprised" by the tennis-centric movie 'Challengers.' She added that she liked the film because it has generated significant buzz and is drawing attention to the sport.

Osaka is currently in Rome, competing at the 2024 Italian Open. She last played in the tournament in 2021 and has not played at the Foro Italico since then.

The former World No.1 had used her protected ranking to secure her spot in this year's competition.

The Japanese tennis star kicked off her Italian Open campaign with a strong performance, defeating French player Clara Burel 7-6(2), 6-1 in the first round. This win was Osaka's first Top 50 win on clay since she defeated Victoria Azarenka 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the second round at the 2019 French Open.

During the post-match press conference, Naomi Osaka was asked about the recently released tennis-centric movie "Challengers," which features Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, and Mike Faist.

Osaka expressed her appreciation for tennis movies and stated that she was "pleasantly" surprised by the film's portrayal of the Challenger Tour. She also stated that she found the movie to be "interesting" and "cool" because it brought a lot of attention to tennis.

"I take all tennis movies in stride (smiling). Like, this one, I was kind of pleasantly surprised that they knew what challengers were. It kind of showed a little bit of the tennis lifestyle in the very beginning of the movie. I thought it was interesting. I also feel like it's very cool because people are talking about the movie a lot obviously. It's bringing attention to tennis," Osaka said.

"I just feel like it's a movie, so I try not to think it's too realistic. For me, I wasn't really watching it for the tennis, more the storyline. I thought it was pretty interesting," she added.

Naomi Osaka will face Marta Kostyuk in the second round at Italian Open 2024

Naomi Osaka at Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2024

Naomi Osaka is set to take on Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the second round of the 2024 Italian Open. Osaka kicked off her campaign in Rome with a victory over Clara Burel in the first round.

Meanwhile, 19th seed Marta Kostyuk will start her campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. She has had an impressive year so far, with a quarterfinal run at the Australian Open, runner-up finishes at the San Diego Open and Stuttgart Open, and a semifinal finish at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Osaka and Kostyuk have only faced each other once on the WTA Tour, with Osaka emerging victorious. Their head-to-head record currently stands at 1-0 in favor of the Japanese.

Naomi Osaka and Marta Kostyuk met in the third round of the 2020 US Open, where the former World No.1 secured a hard-fought victory with a score of 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2. Osaka then went on to claim the US Open title by defeating Victoria Azarenka 1–6, 6–3, 6–3 in the final.