Naomi Osaka Is Pregnant with Her First Child
Naomi Osaka is many things: Four-time tennis Grand Slam champion, Olympian, and outspoken advocate for social justice. The 25-year-old tennis superstar is also one half of the “coolest young couple on the planet,” as GQ magazine once reported, along with her boyfriend, Cordae. Soon this duo will add a new title to their résumés: parents. Today, Osaka revealed that she and Cordae are expecting their first child, according to People.
Osaka has been dating Cordae, a rapper previously known as YBN Cordae, since 2019. According to Osaka, he’s been an essential part of her journey. While the two are quite private, they have shared a handful of sweet moments with the public—one being the time Cordae flew out to see Osaka during the 2020 U.S. Open because she mentioned she was feeling lonely. The two also made a rare red carpet appearance together at the 2021 Met Gala, where Osaka was a co-chair (and wore a Louis Vuitton gown inspired by her Haitian and Japanese ancestry).
In a 2021 Netflix documentary series, Osaka opened up about her family, childhood, and rapid ascent to fame, beginning with her 2018 victory against Serena Williams at the U.S. Open—and Cordae made an appearance.
Now that Osaka has officially announced that she’s pregnant with their first child, here’s what to know about her relationship with Cordae.
Cordae is a Grammy-nominated rapper
Cordae, 25, was born Cordae Amari Dunston in Raleigh, North Carolina. Growing up, his family moved around frequently—he told Complex he attended seven different elementary schools—but he came of age in Maryland.
His ascent to a rap star was fast. Picture this: In 2017, Cordae was attending Towson University to study communications and working at T.G.I. Friday’s. He dropped out in 2018, telling the L.A. Times that he had only gone to college to please his mother. He moved to L.A. to be part of the YBN Collective and continue his rap career (he had released his first mix tape when he was 15 under the name Entendre). In May of 2018, he had his first viral song, a remix of Eminem’s 1999 single “My Name Is.”
Cordae’s debut studio album, The Lost Boy, came out in the summer of 2020 to acclaim. Speaking to Highsnobiety, Cordae said the album was informed by the “journey” he went through. “I am the embodiment of struggle; I am a product of struggle, too,” Cordae said. “I represent what a lost boy is and the idea of finding your path. I like the idea that a rose can grow from concrete, and that’s what I want this music to embody.”
Later, Cordae posted a video of himself crying when he learned he earned Grammy nominations in the categories of Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song. He later told the Associated Press that he wasn’t necessarily surprised by the nominations—he’d been manifesting this moment. His phone background at the time was a photoshopped image of him holding a Grammy.
Cordae describes his music as emotional. “I make that s*** that touches your soul, that the average human being can relate to,” he told Pigeons & Planes in May 2018. In January 2022, he released a second album, From a Birds Eye View.
Osaka introduced Cordae to tennis
Cordae and Osaka first met during during a Clippers game in 2019. Speaking to Ebro in the Morning, Cordae confessed he wasn’t familiar with her at the time. “I didn’t even know who she was. When you think about tennis, I know Serena Williams. That’s all I can speak on tennis,” he said.
His first-ever tennis game was was in 2019, when he watched Osaka play at the U.S. Open. Speaking to GQ, Cordae said he felt “out of place” at the match. “My elementary school, middle school, high school was 99.9 percent Black. Kids who look like me,” Cordae said. “It just felt really weird for me being in that space. That was my first tennis match ever.”
Cordae said their relationship “feeds the brain”
Cordae and Osaka had different upbringings. Osaka was born in Japan and grew up pursuing a career in tennis in Florida and New York. Cordae, on the other hand, moved around the United States. Cordae says he’s “seen all aspects of American life,” telling the L.A. Times, “I’ve been through college, and I lived in a trailer park for five years. I’ve lived in the trenches of Maryland, and I’ve lived in the suburbs.”
Now they use their journeys to teach each other. “She has a very worldly perspective,” Cordae told GQ. “My perspective has always been being a young Black man in America. But she thinks more worldly. I’ve only been traveling the world the last two years.”
Cordae said he and Osaka love recommending books and movies to each other. “Just always feeding the brain,” he said.
They were “grateful” for the time spent together in quarantine
Osaka and Cordae didn’t get on each other’s nerves during the quarantine period in 2020. Speaking to GQ, Osaka said the period actually strengthened their relationship.
“I’m very grateful for the time that we’ve spent during quarantine. Because we both move around so much, I’m not sure when we would have had a couple of months just to enjoy each other’s time and get to know each other better,” Osaka said.
The couple is private on purpose
Poke around on Osaka and Cordae’s Instagram pages, and you won’t see much PDA. That’s deliberate. “We don’t really post intimate moments, because I feel as though they’re sacred. A relationship is really a sacred thing,” Cordae explained to GQ. “Once you let outside influences get into it, it becomes less sacred.”
That said, when they do interact, it’s with love. Osaka posted a few behind-the-scenes photos from the 2021 ESPYs, including one with Cordae. He commented, “The highest level 📶.”
But Osaka did reveal her pregnancy on Instagram in January 2023
Osaka took to Twitter to share a few updates—one being that she plans to compete in the Australian Open in 2024, and the other being a photo of a sonogram. “I know that I have so much to look forward to in the future, one thing I’m looking forward to is for my kid to watch one of my matches and tell someone, ‘that’s my mom,’ haha,” she wrote in the post.
Can’t wait to get back on the court but here’s a little life update for 2023. pic.twitter.com/GYXRnutU3I
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) January 11, 2023
And yes, Cordae writes songs about Osaka
Cordae dedicated a few verses to Osaka on his EP, Just Until..., released in 2021. Case in point? “My girl would forfeit a tennis match to meet my grandmama / Man, she truly a keeper,” he sang in “Dream in Color.” The song “Thanksgiving” is about bringing her home to meet his family during the holidays.
Speaking to GQ, Osaka revealed Cordae played her music before anyone else. “I had to do a lot of pleases. ‘Please, sir, can I just please listen to your song?’ Eventually, he let me listen to his music, which I feel really grateful and honored about, to be honest. He’s a perfectionist, and I think that’s sort of what I am, too. So maybe that’s why we get along,” Osaka said.
Cordae added, “She’s musically inclined, though. She has a good ear. I don’t really trust too many people’s ear like that. You get what I’m saying? She has a widespread ear. And that’s the way she thinks as well: worldwide.”
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