Naomi Osaka wants more girls to experience the opportunities that sport gives her. Through Play Academy with Naomi Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion supports community organisations that help girls participate in sports and develop skills beyond the court. One example is NPO J Camp in Japan, where her initiative supports a project that gives girls with disabilities opportunities to play wheelchair basketball and explore leadership roles.




The project, called Push for Future, began in 2024 with support from Play Academy. It gives Osaka’s wider mission a practical focus: helping girls build confidence through sport while creating opportunities for young women to guide the next generation.




How Naomi Osaka’s Play Academy is expanding sports opportunities for girls with disabilitiesOsaka launched Play Academy in 2020 with Nike and Laureus Sport for Good. She drew on her own experience as a young tennis player and recognised that many girls do not have the same access to sport or role models.




“I’ve been playing tennis since I was 3 years old, and it has changed my life. But I know not all girls, especially girls from underserved communities. have the same opportunities or role models that I’ve had, and I want to do something about it,” Osaka said in her statement on the official Play Academy website.




Her initiative supports grassroots organisations rather than running every programme itself. In Japan, that support reaches J Camp, which uses wheelchair basketball to help girls with and without disabilities take part in sport.




A report published by Play Academy on October 11, 2025, described how J Camp adapts its sessions with soft balls, hoops at different heights and a tambourine beneath a basket. These changes allow participants to try shots at their own pace. They can also choose their equipment and suggest changes to the rules.




Makiko Harada , J Camp’s programme manager, explained the reason behind this approach in the October 11 report.




“Children with disabilities often spend their days being helped, or holding back,” Harada said. “Here, they choose, decide and try on their own. Those small steps build self-confidence and self-efficacy.”




The sessions give girls opportunities to make decisions for themselves instead of simply following instructions. They can try harder shots, create rules and encourage other participants. This is the kind of experience Play Academy aims to support by helping local organisations make sport more accessible.




How Naomi Osaka’s initiative is helping young women become leadersPlay Academy’s support for J Camp also extends beyond participation. Through Push for Future, J Camp trains young women, including those with disabilities, in areas such as safeguarding and working with children with disabilities. They then become programme leaders and help run sessions.




One of them, Yume, first discovered wheelchair basketball through a J Camp staff member when she was in high school. She joined the leadership programme in 2024 because she wanted to help create more places where everyone could enjoy sport, regardless of disability.




In the Play Academy report, Yume described how the role helped her become more comfortable speaking with children and their parents.




“I was so nervous speaking in front of the kids at first. But little by little, I started to go up and talk to them and their parents, and I’ve become more proactive. I’ve gained confidence—even if it’s just a little,” she said.




Her experience shows how the programme can help young women develop skills they can use beyond the court. Harada also noted that seeing women take leadership roles can encourage girls to imagine themselves doing the same.




According to the report, some participants have already told J Camp they want to become programme leaders when they grow up. Some leaders have also taken what they learned into diversity initiatives in their workplaces and communities.




J Camp expanded its efforts to include wheelchair rugby in 2025, giving participants another sporting option.




In Osaka’s case, the project reflects the goal she set when she launched Play Academy: giving more girls the chance to discover what sport can offer them. Through its support for J Camp, the initiative helps create opportunities not only for girls to play, but also for young women to become role models for others.