Naomi Osaka's agency signs 15-year-old Australian tennis player Cooper Kose

Osaka, a four-time major champion and former No. 1 player whose group also represents 2022 Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios and Anna Kalinskaya, practiced with Kose in Los Angeles at UCLA in April.

I thought Cooper was a really good player. He reminds me a little bit of Nick, just the way he swings his forehand. And then I asked him who his favorite player was, and it was Nick, so it made sense, Osaka said Sunday at the All England Club, where the third Grand Slam tournament of the year starts on Monday. It will be cool to see him grow.

And make no mistake: Kose is still growing. He said he wears a size 14 shoe and is already 6 feet tall, which is about 6 feet, and the doctors have told him there is more to come. That size helps him generate power on serves that both he and 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Chris Eubanks, who hit with Kose in Australia in January, are said to reach 125 miles per hour and forehands that form the basis of a game that Kose calls quite complete. to be honest.

He's like a rough, uncut gemstone, with a lot of belief in himself, said Stuart Duguid, Osaka's longtime agent who co-founded the management group EVOLVE with her two years ago. “Our theory was that if he can do it, he'll be the type of player we want to represent.

Duguid explained that he is a talented athlete who has the potential to transcend tennis.

When we come to Grand Slams, you can tell those who have some magic and can impact lives beyond those around us. It’s still a long way to go, but it seemed like he had the chance to do so, said Duguid, who added that EVOLVE is also bringing on board another teenager, Yi Zhou, a 19-year-old from China.

I hope he doesn't mind me saying this, but Cooper reminded us a lot of The Big Guy, said Duguid, nodding toward Kyrgios, who has been working as a TV commentator while sidelined since wrist surgery and was making a promotional appearance near the All England club.

Kose said in a telephone interview from Gold Coast, Australia, that he was first taught to play tennis at a young age by his grandfather, who died last year. Kose said his mother and grandparents ran an indoor tennis facility in Melbourne, and he was told he first held a racket in his hand when he was 18 months old.

He has never played in a junior Grand Slam event and may not. He is eager to start accumulating ATP ranking points and seeing how he can fare against older players, hoping to improve his net game while learning as much as he can about the sport and life on tour.

My ultimate goal is to become world number 1, win multiple Grand Slams and basically be a good role model for kids coming up, Kose said. And to make a name for myself.

When asked about meeting Osaka and seducing her, Kose recalled with a laugh: She couldn't really believe my level. She was a little shocked at how old I was, like everyone else I meet.

Count Eubanks among those who had this reaction.

I was really, really impressed. He hits the ball really, really well. He seems to love the game. So I started to like him. What a nice kid, Eubanks said. He's young, but he can play incredibly well. When I found out he was (14), it was a big shock. We play full-on baseline games from the floor and he holds his own.

Duguid first heard about Kose when Gauffs coach Brad Gilbert mentioned the Australian during a TV broadcast from Melbourne Park. That eventually led to Duguid and Osaka meeting Kose in LA.

Kyrgio's manager, Daniel Horsfall, will be involved in Kose's career.

When I first spoke to Cooper, a lot of the things he said and the way he explained things to me reminded me a lot of Nick when we grew up together, Horsfall said.

Howard Fendrich has been the APs tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis