Nike has released a one-minute ad featuring black female athletes to celebrate Women’s History Month. Nike’s “We Play Real” campaign features Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and other black female athletes.

The ad was also released in time to coincide with international women’s day. In addition to Serena William and Naomi Osaka, the ad also features soccer players, NBA stars, dancers, and astronauts.

Naomi Osaka has been vocal in her support for the Black Lives Matter movement. At the US Open last year, she wore masks bearing the name of black victims of racial injustice to encourage people to talk about the issue.

Nike has attracted a lot of criticism over the years for not speaking out on behalf of black athletes and for using cheap labor, sometimes child labor, in low-cost countries to make its products.

Mari Osaka announced that she will be retiring from tennis at age 24. Mari is Naomi Osaka’s older sister. She had been primarily playing ITF tournaments in recent years.

Mari Osaka reached a career-high ranking of 280 in 2018. She could not achieve the kind of success that her younger sister did on the women’s tour. In an Instagram post, Osaka said that she didn’t enjoy playing the sport.

I am retired from playing tennis. It was a journey which I didn’t enjoy ultimately but I’m grateful for all the memories and support I’ve gained and received over the years from the sport. I’m moving on now so you can look forward to new fun projects upcoming in the future.

Mari Osaka

In 2019, Mari Osaka made her main draw debut at the Miami Open courtesy of a wild card. The wild card attracted a lot of controversy at the time as many felt that it was awarded due to the influence of Naomi Osaka.

Siblings of top players often struggle on the professional circuit. Novak Djokovic’s brothers, Marko and Djordje, have not had much success on the tour and have had to rely on wildcards to get into ATP tournaments.