Tennis legend Naomi Osaka has left her sports agency company, the International Management Group (IMG) to form her own company.
The announcement broke today when Osaka announced that she would be starting her own sports agency company, called EVOLVE. With her contract with IMG ending at the end of last year, she felt that talks with them were “unfruitful” and thus decided to part ways with the company.
“I’ve spent my career doing things my way, even when people told me that it wasn’t what was expected or traditional,” the 24-year-old star said. “EVOLVE is the natural next step in my journey as both an athlete and businesswoman, as well as a way to continue being myself and doing things my way.”
Naomi Osaka is leaving IMG to launch her own sports agency — EVOLVE.
She's the first female athlete at her level to take control of her business endeavors and attempt to build an agency, per @kbadenhausen. pic.twitter.com/A18goBdk6C
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) May 11, 2022
Osaka will be forming the company with former IMG agent Stuart Duguid, who also left IMG. According to Duguid, he and Osaka will both have equity stakes in the company, and will consider adding only a few clients. “The core of EVOLVE is building Naomi’s business from $50 million a year to $150 million a year,” Duguid said.
Osaka, who is already the world’s highest-paid female athlete, adds EVOLVE as one of her own businesses, as she has already founded a skincare company called Kinlo, and has her own sleepwear and swimwear lines.
“I’m excited to start this with my business partner, Stuart, and our plan is to use the same approach we took in building my businesses authentically and strategically as a vision for this company,” Osaka said. “I strongly believe in the power athletes have to use our platforms to drive meaningful business.”
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