Naomi Osaka has a new self-titled docu-series on Netflix.- During the series, she discusses her relationship with the late NBA legend
Kobe Bryant . - Osaka says she felt like she "let down" Bryant after his death.
The new docu-series "Naomi Osaka," which documents the life of the
During the second episode in the series, Osaka shares a tearful video she recorded herself the day after it was announced that her mentor and NBA legend Kobe Bryant had died in a helicopter accident alongside his daughter,
In the video, Osaka tears up while talking about her admiration for Bryant's famous competitive "Mamba" mentality, and the tennis star says she feels like she has let down Bryant because she hasn't been able to continue his legacy.
"It's so amazing how one person can touch the hearts of so many people. When I talked to him, I felt so similar to him. The way he would describe how he would do things to get under his opponents' skin or whatever. I was like, 'That's literally what I do,'" Osaka said of Bryant in the video.
"So I'm feeling like I let him down. I'm supposed to carry on his mentality in tennis and here I am like … I haven't won a Grand Slam. I'm losing matches because I'm mentally weak, and that's so uncharacteristic of him."
Osaka continued to say that she had thought about texting Bryant days before the helicopter accident to seek advice on her career, but she didn't because she still hadn't made use of his earlier advice, and she didn't want to "feel like a loser."
"We're having all these talks and I'm not even doing what we're talking about. So it's like I'm just gonna text him again, like, 'How do you heal with this situation?'" she said.
"And then I didn't text him that cause I didn't wanna feel like a loser and now I'll never have the chance to talk to him again. I don't know, like wow."
Soon after Bryant's death, Osaka suffered a crushing defeat at the 2020 Fed Cup. Later during the documentary, her coach, Wim Fissette, said she "wasn't there in spirit or mentally" during the defeat.
"The death of Kobe was a real thing that upset her. They were close," he said.
Osaka has often discussed her close relationship with Bryant. After her comeback Grand Slam win at the 2020 US Open, she wore a Bryan jersey and told the press: "For me, I just always wish I would do something that he's proud of, and I felt incredibly lucky to have known Kobe and to speak to him on a personal level."
She added: "So, hopefully, whatever I do, he won't be mad about and he'd be proud."