Netflix' "Naomi Osaka" docuseries turns the tennis player's story into an "exploration of both life on the court and the vast spaces around it." It is about "loneliness and self-discovery as much as it is about tennis, and it is beautifully done." Each of its three episodes covers a "different phase in Osaka's still-nascent career, and though it does not cover her recent withdrawal from the French Open and the subsequent discussion around mental health in sport, it provides substantial context for it." The series has a "slow, almost meditative pace," and it "imbues seemingly mundane events with poignancy." Osaka comes across as "deeply introspective." While it has its moments of sadness, this is "not a bleak watch." By the third episode, "you get the sense that Osaka is transforming her endless self-contemplation into action" (London GUARDIAN, 7/16).
Click here to read more reviews in SBJ's daily edition.
