Black Tennis Pros

World No. 1 Naomi Osaka joins the group of powerful and inspiring women who are already part of Barbie’s “Sheroes” initiative.

 “Growing up, I’ve had a lot of role models and I think that’s really important because that’s sort of like a goal that you set,” Osaka explains. “I think having a really good female role model is really good for kids. I feel like it’s a really big responsibility, but in a way, I’m also really honored, and I won’t take it for granted.”

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So honored to be selected as a Barbie Role Model to help inspire the next generation of girls. Feels surreal because I played with barbies as a kid, never imagined to have one modeled after me 😳🙏❤️ @barbie #Barbie60 #youcanbeanything #barbie

A post shared by Naomi Osaka 大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) on Mar 7, 2019 at 9:58am PST

 “In athletics they have this statistic that girls drop out of sports quicker than boys, and for me I feel sad hearing that because of course I’m a professional athlete,” Osaka says. “I hope that girls feel inspired, and I hope they somehow see a lot of possibilities when they look at all the dolls.”

In conjunction with the release of Osaka’s doll, Barbie — which is celebrating its 60th anniversary — plans to donate $1 from any doll sold, up to 250,000, to the Dream Gap Project, an initiative that raises awareness about the limiting factors girls face when trying to accomplish their dreams. And when it comes to those dreams, Osaka wants young girls to know they should never give up, and never let society make them wonder “what if.”

“You wake up every day and you have a dream and you can only try to accomplish that dream,” she says. “For me, I just feel like I like to live without regrets and that’s always been my motto.”