Leonard Francois: The story of Naomi Osaka's Haitian father

Naomi Osaka entered the top tier of women’s tennis when she won her first WTA title at the Indian Wells Open in 2018. Several months later, she defeated Serena Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, during the final of the US open. But as the world watched her beat a champion, they saw similarities in both players. Serena’s father introduced her to tennis when she was young. On the other hand, Naomi Osaka’s father, Leonard Francois, trained Osaka to play tennis when she was three.

Leonard Francois is a Haitian-American professional tennis coach. He is known as the father of Naomi Osaka; a Japanese professional tennis player once ranked as world number one and the first Japanese player to win a major singles title in tennis.

While people only know Naomi Osaka, Leonard is the father of professional tennis player Mari Osaka. His determination to coaching her children made them the best in the world.

Leonard Francois profile summary

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Early life

The coach was born Leonard Maxime Francois in Jacmel, Haiti. However, his date of birth remains unknown, with many publications suggesting he is in his late 40s.

Although he was born in Haiti, Leonard Francois’ moved to the United States. First, he lived in New York and even attended college. Then, after finishing college, he went to Japan in 1990, where he met his future wife and stayed in Japan for many years.

Professional career

Leonard Francois worked in Japan for close to a decade. He then moved to the United States and settled in Long Island for five years. But before moving with his family from Japan, Francois saw the French Open featuring Venus and Serena Williams, who were 18 and 17, respectively, as they teamed up to win the doubles.

The win inspired him, and he followed the blueprint laid down by Serena’s father. He started training his children to play tennis in the United States. Mari was four, and Osaka was three. But Long Island lacked the best facilities to train his children. So, in 2006, he moved his family to Florida to get better training opportunities.

Leonard Francois became a coach to his two daughters. He did not send them to school but homeschooled them every day in the evening. During the day, he would train his daughters how to hit the ball and repeat it several thousand times. Then, he took his children to a tennis academy to improve their game.

He continued to be Naomi Osaka’s coach even after she found other coaches. After a series of losses, he reunited with her daughter around 2019 and became her head coach.

Wife and children

The coach is married and has two children. His wife is Tamaki Osaka, a Japanese national from Nemuro, Hokkaido, Japan. Leonard and Tamaki met in 1990. At that time, he was still a college student in New York who had gone on a trip to Japan while Tamaki was in high school. Japan had a few black men since the country had recently allowed foreigners to travel there.

Leonard Francois and Tamaki Osaka started dating. However, they kept their relationship private for several years. Tamaki was in her 20s and did not want to reveal anything about her dating because her father wanted to begin talks about a Japanese matchmaking process called omiai.

Omiai would allow her father to find a suitable partner for her and arrange for a marriage. But Tamaki revealed that she was already dating someone. That revelation did not go well when it became apparent that the person she referred to was a foreigner who was also black. Her outraged father excoriated her because he had brought disgrace to his family.

That did not stop Leonard and Tamaki from continuing their relationship. Instead, the duo moved south to Osaka, Japan. Leonard was not living in Japan and had started speaking some Japanese. He found work and lived in the country for more than a decade. But throughout that period, Tamaki made no contact with her family.

On 3 April 1996 (age 26 as of 2022), Leonard and his wife welcomed their first daughter, Mari Osaka. Eighteen months later, their second daughter, Naomi Osaka, was born on 16 October 1997 (age 25 as of 2022). Three years later, he moved his family to Elmont, New York, and settled in Long Island to live with his parents.

Five years later, he moved his family to Florida to give his two daughters an excellent environment to train in tennis. Eventually, he made his children pros, and Naomi became the world’s number one in tennis. As of 2022, he lives in Osaka, Japan, but travels with his daughter Naomi anywhere she plays a tennis tournament.

Leonard Francois’ net worth

The personality has worked in Japan and the United States. He has primarily worked as a professional tennis coach. He coached his two daughters when they were young. And even after their adulthood and becoming champions, he still coaches his youngest daughter Naomi. Hi net worth is estimated to be around $25 million.

His daughter is wealthy after winning many prizes for her work as a tennis player. As of 2022, Naomi Osaka’s net worth is $45 million. Her wealth comes from prize money at tennis tournaments, competitions, and business interests.

Leonard Francois’s fast facts

Leonard Francois is a Haitian-American professional tennis coach who is the father of Naomi Osaka and Mari Osaka. He is well credited for coaching his two daughters to play tennis since they were three. Leonard is married to a Japanese citizen named Tamaki Osaka. As of 2022, he works as Naomi’s head coach. Although he lives in Japan, he travels anywhere her daughters play tennis.

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