Tennis Champion Naomi Osaka Becomes an FTX Ambassador

Key Insights:

• 4-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka becomes a brand ambassador for FTX.
• The relationship between sport and digital assets continues to blossom.
• Payments will be in crypto, with Osaka also getting an equity stake in FTX.

It’s been a busy few months for sports, digital assets, and virtuality. Several sporting disciplines have gone virtual and linked with NFTs. These have included soccer, American Football, Major League Baseball, Basketball, UFC fighting, and more.

Crypto exchanges have targeted sports players, sports teams, and sporting occasions to build brand awareness.

Tennis Major Champ Naomi Osaka Partners with FTX

This week, news hit the wires of Tennis four-time Grand Slam Champion Naomi Osaka becoming a brand ambassador for FTX.

Osaka will receive payments in crypto and an equity stake in FTX. The tennis star will fly the FTX logo during the Miami Open tomorrow, where she faces Australian Astra Sharma.

FTX took to Twitter, announcing the new partnership.

A four-time Grand Slam champion, @naomiosaka is changing the game on and off the court. We’re incredibly proud to call her our newest partner!

🤝 working to make #bitcoin and crypto more accessible. pic.twitter.com/aA3wd7eY0r

— FTX (@FTX_Official) March 21, 2022

FTX Official tweeted,

“A four-time Grand Slam champion @naomiosaka is changing the game on and off the court. We’re incredibly proud to call her our newest partner!”

Naomi Osaka tweeted,

“If @StephenCurry30 @TomBrady and @giseleofficial are in then you know I am too! Excited for the journey ahead with @FTX_Official and SBF_FTX.

If @StephenCurry30 @TomBrady and @giseleofficial are in then you know I am too!  Excited for the journey ahead with @FTX_Official and SBF_FTX 🚀 pic.twitter.com/ydrjhoKPaL

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) March 21, 2022

Tennis, NFTs, Digital Assets, and Sport Have Enjoyed a Fruitful Quarter

Tennis Australia went virtual in January, with the Australian Open (AO) going Metaverse.

For tennis fans and players, it was the first time a major tennis tournament partnered with a virtual reality platform. AO replicated Melbourne Park in Decentraland (MANA), giving fans from across the world access to the stadium, matches, and players.

AO also released 6,776 Art Balls Ethereum (ETH) minted NFTs via the AO platform “The AO Art Ball.”

Osaka is not the only sports star to join the FTX family. Sporting greats Stephen Curry and Tom Brady are also official FTX brand ambassadors.

The FTX link with American Football went further this February. The crypto exchange bought half-time ad time at Super Bowl LVI. FTX was one of four exchanges airing ads at the half-time show. The others included Coinbase, Crypto.com, and eToro.

While sports and digital assets have formed strong bonds, concerns over the use of famous athletes to promote riskier assets have also grown.

Recently, regulators have targeted crypto ad campaigns. These have included Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Despite this, exchanges continue to go through the sports world to attract audiences into the crypto world.