Osaka becomes owner of US soccer club

Three-time Grand Slam tennis champion, Japan's Naomi Osaka has invested in National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) team North Carolina Courage to become a team owner, the US top-flight club said on Thursday.

Osaka took to Twitter to break the news.

“The women who have invested in me growing up made me who I am today, I don’t know where I would be without them. Throughout my career I’ve always received so much love from my fellow female athletes so that’s why I am proud to share that I am now a owner of @TheNCCourage’, the 23-year-old tweeted.

Courage, founded in 2017 by Stephen Malik who acquired the franchise rights from 2016 champions Western New York Flash, won back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019 after moving to North Carolina.

Osaka was named Forbes' highest-paid female athlete in May last year when she surpassed Serena Williams, raking in $37.4 million in prize money and endorsements over 12 months.

Osaka, who won the US Open last year, has used her standing in the sport to fight for racial justice and at every round of the tournament in New York she wore masks bearing the names of Black Americans who had been killed.