Naomi Osaka makes major career move by leaving the agency she co-founded, which represents Aryna Sabalenka & others

Naomi Osaka has made a major career move by leaving Evolve, the athlete talent agency she co-founded in 2022. The agency currently represents World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and several other WTA stars.

Osaka founded Evolve in late 2022 alongside Stuart Duguid, her longtime agent who had previously represented her at IMG between 2016 and 2022. Evolve was touted as the ‘first female-athlete-led talent agency’.

In the years that followed, Evolve signed several major tennis stars. In 2023, they welcomed aboard three-time Grand Slam finalist and former World No.2 Ons Jabeur.

At the beginning of 2025, the agency landed one of its biggest stars to date when it signed reigning World No.1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Aryna Sabalenka. After signing with Sabalenka, Evolve has played a major role in setting up the Belarusian's upcoming ‘Battle of the Sexes' exhibition match against former Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios.

However, tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg recently revealed that Naomi Osaka is set to part ways with the company that she co-founded. The Japanese tennis star will reportedly return to her previous agency IMG at the beginning of 2026.

Naomi Osaka reflects on her 2025 season

Osaka at the Garden Cup 2025 (Image Source: Getty)

Naomi Osaka enjoyed a strong 2025 season on the tennis courts. The former World No.1 struggled to deliver results in the first half of the season but she soon found her rhythm. In the latter half of the year, the Japanese tennis star made it to the finals of the National Bank Open and the semifinals of the US Open.

Reflecting on the season gone by, Osaka wrote on social media,

“When I sit and think about it I just feel very thankful for this year. I'm thankful for the people I've encountered along the way, though our paths might lead in different directions, I will always appreciate the times we had together. I'm also thankful for being relatively injury free this year (haha I just thought about it and I was injured at the beginning and end of the season Imaooo), anyways I'm thankful for my health and being able to wake up each day ready to chase my dreams.”

The 28-year-old went on to show her gratitude for her life and the supportive people around her, adding,

“I'm also grateful for being able to travel and see the world with my daughter. I'm so honored that I have such amazing people that support me. I always say this but I really mean it each time, I don't know what I did to deserve all this love and support but thank you infinitely for it. I will never be able to pay you back but I'll try my best! See you guys next year.”

Naomi Osaka will kick off her 2026 season at the United Cup, where she will lead the Japanese team as they make their debut at the event. The tournament will take place between January 2 and 11.

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Edited by Riddhi Acharya