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Opinion
Andreas Kluth

Naomi Osaka Is a Role Model, Now More Than Ever

Tennis, like all sports and most of life, is about the game inside the head. Osaka reminded us that this needs tending to.

Time to go.

Time to go.

Photographer: Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

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Golf is a game of inches, said Arnold Palmer, one of the sport’s greatest players. He added: “The most important are the six inches between your ears.” 

The same is true of tennis, and indeed almost any sport, not to mention the rest of life. Athletes may spend most of their time cultivating their bodies. But the wise ones know that what matters most is the mind.