Naomi Osaka Lands Cover of 2021 SI Swimsuit Issue
July 20, 2021 at 9:15 am
ENTERTAINMENT

Contributed By Scott Lipscomb

The Swimsuit Issue is one of Sports Illustrated most anticipated magazine issues every year. This year tennis star Naomi Osaka, Rapper Megan Thee Stallion, and transgender model Leyna Bloom grace the cover.

The tennis superstar and defending Australia Open champion is the first Hattian or Japanese women to grace the cover.

“I’m so proud to be the first Japanese and Haitian woman to grace one of the covers. I feel like that multi-cultural background is present in all of the things that I do. I try to incorporate it in everything, so hopefully, you see that. My memories [of the magazine] kind of involves the people that I grew up admiring, so I remember Tyra Banks’s issue, I remember Beyonce’s. Just growing up and watching so many incredible women grace this cover, for me, it feels like a dream.”

As she prepares for the Tokyo Olympics, her magazine cover will release July 22nd along with two additional covers of Megan Thee Stallion and Leyna Bloom.

“We celebrate Naomi for her passion, strength and power geared toward consistently breaking barriers when it comes to equality, social justice and mental health,” Sports Illustrated Swimsuit editor MJ Day told TMZ Sports.