Women’s tennis star Naomi Osaka has been named the Hickok Belt® Award winner for February 2021. Voting was conducted by a select panel of members of the National Sports Media Association (NSMA). The voters selected Osaka based on her performance in winning her second Australian Open title. She has won seven major titles on the Women’s Tennis Tour and is currently ranked the No. 1 Asian in the world by the WTA rankings. Since 2018, Naomi Osaka has achieved a Grand Slam singles title in the last four years.
Other finalists for the month of February in order of how the NSMA ranked them included: Giannis Antetokounmpo (basketball), Novak Djokovic (tennis), Michael McDowell (auto racing), Nikola Jokic (basketball), Andrei Vasilevskiy (hockey), Mitch Marner (hockey), Kaillie Humphries/Lolo Jones (bobsled), Katharina Liensberger (skiing), and Max Home (golf).
Her selection as the Hickok Belt® Award winner for February 2021 recognizes Naomi Osaka as “the best of the best” in professional sports for the month and makes her the second candidate eligible to receive the overall Hickok Belt® Award for 2021, joining Patrick Mahomes. Winners as selected by the NSMA will be announced each month throughout 2021.
The Hickok Belt® Award was originally presented annually from 1950 to 1976. Past recipients include a list of the 20th century’s elite athletes including the likes of Muhammad Ali, Arnold Palmer, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Jim Brown, and others who defined their sports. To learn more about the history of the Hickok Belt® Award and keep up with all the news surrounding the award in 2021, visit hickokbelt.com.
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