Former world number one in tennis, Naomi Osaka, is preparing to enter the world of fantasy through a lead role in a comic series (manga) to be published by a magazine devoted to teenage girls.
Osaka, the world number three at present and the champion of three major tournaments, will be the star of a new series titled "Peerless Naomi" overseen by her older sister, Mary Osaka.
It will be published at the end of December in the monthly "Nakayoshi" magazine, which is devoted to a genre of manga known as "shoujo" aimed at a female audience.
The series will feature twins, under the pseudonym "Futago Kamitica".
Osaka Sunday tweeted, "This is so exciting for my sister and me, because reading manga and watching cartoons brought us closer in our childhood."
A commercial cartoon appeared last year of the Japanese-Haitian hero, but the noodle company Nissin was forced to stop broadcasting it after she was accused of bleaching Osaka´s complexion.
Osaka, which brought down American Serena Williams to the throne of the most highly paid female player, is the face of several brands in Japan, where it is very popular.
Last summer, she expressed her commitment to the anti-racism movement Black Lives Matter.
It decided not to play its semi-final match in Cincinnati, to protest the police shooting of African-American Jacob Blake, which led to the organizers canceling the competitions for a day and postponing the final 24 hours.
