Naomi osaka
Osaka climbs to second after Australian Open triumph
The Japanese star beat Jennifer Brady of the US in straight sets in the final to lift the trophy in Melbourne for the second time in three years.
But the Japanese star, a four-time major-winner at the age of just 23, insisted America's Serena Williams, 39 -- who has 23 Slam crowns -- remains the face of the women's game.
Astronaut Soichi Noguchi wrote from space "Naomi Osaka, congratulations on the victory," with a gold-medal emoji.
Osaka edged a tight first set and broke the American twice in the second to win 6-4, 6-3 in 77 minutes in front of thousands of fans at Rod Laver Arena.
Serena Williams has been playing the Australian Open since 1998 - when Naomi Osaka, her semi-final conqueror, was a baby - and has grown to rule the tournament with seven titles, an Open-era record.
The Japanese third seed swept past the American veteran 6-3, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena in front of thousands of fans allowed back in after Melbourne lifted a snap five-day lockdown.
The seven-time champion, in her 20th Australian Open and 77th Grand Slam, raised her intensity and accuracy to beat the Romanian second seed 6-3, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.
The Japanese three-time Grand Slam champion overcame the Taiwanese world number 71's unorthodox style 6-2, 6-2 in an all-Asian quarter-final.
Serena Williams started her quest for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title in style with a 6-1, 6-1 romp past Germany's Laura Siegemund in 56 minutes.
Osaka, a leading face of the Games in her home nation, joined growing criticism of former Japanese prime minister Yoshiro Mori, 83, after he complained that women speak for too long in meetings.
SI's annual Sportsperson of the Year was The Activist Athlete and paid tribute to off-field activities by James, Osaka, Mahomes and his NFL teammate Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and Women's NBA champion Breanna Stewart.
The French Open is due to start on 27 September at Roland Garros, rescheduled from earlier in the year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Osaka, of Japanese and Haitian heritage, wore different masks for each of her seven matches in the tournament, honouring victims of racial injustice and police brutality.
The Japanese 2018 US Open champion overcame the 25-year-old American 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 6-3 in 2hr 8min under the roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Osaka, the tournament's fourth seed, swept aside unseeded Shelby Rogers in straight sets to set up a match with Jennifer Brady for a place in Saturday's final.
The three-times champion at Flushing Meadows was never really pushed by the German, who has taken just one set off the Serb in their five career meetings.
The 22-year-old fourth seed has spoken out repeatedly in the wake of the protests that swept the United States following the death of George Floyd during a confrontation with police in May.
'I'm sorry to have to withdraw today with an injury,' said Naomi Osaka, who is currently on the Monday night schedule at the US Open where she is due to play fellow Japanese Misaki Doi in the first round.
The women's draw unveiled Thursday ahead of Monday's start of the Flushing Meadows fortnight in a spectator-less COVID-19 quarantine bubble offers some challenges for the 38-year-old third seed.