Naomi Osaka to publish picture book ‘The Way Champs Play’

NEW YORK (AP) — Naomi Osaka has some life lessons she’d like to share.

The tennis superstar has a deal with HarperCollins Publishers for a children’s picture book, “The Way Champs Play,” scheduled to come out Dec. 6. Illustrated by Kamala Nair, the book was arranged through Osaka’s new media company, Hana Kuma. The story is based on Osaka’s organization Play Academy, which provides grants and training for community sports organizations.

“The Way Champs Play” is Osaka’s first book.

“The leadership, confidence, teamwork, and resilience I’ve learned on the court have been so valuable to me and that’s why I am so excited about my new book, ‘The Way Champs Play,'” Osaka, 24, said in a statement released Tuesday.

“I’ve learned my greatest lessons on the court, and that’s why I started Play Academy, to ensure girls can stay in organized sports,” the four-time Grand Slam singles champion added.

Depeche Mode line up 1st album, tour in over 5 years

BERLIN (AP) — Depeche Mode have lined up a new album and the band’s first live shows in more than five years, an announcement that comes months after the death of founding member Andy “Fletch” Fletcher.

The band said in Berlin on Tuesday that the album, “Memento Mori,” will be released next spring. The accompanying tour will start with what’s billed as a “special, limited series of North American arena dates” starting March 23, ahead of a summer stadium tour in Europe.

Lead singer Dave Gahan said he and fellow band mainstay Martin Gore started talking in January about working on a new project together. Gore had been writing “for a while, through the pandemic,” and came up with the title — Latin for “Remember that you must die.”

“I liked that immediately, just because it kinda felt like it was right for the imagery that was already developing in the songs — that life can be so fleeting and just be there and then gone the next minute,” Gahan told The Associated Press.

“Living or not living, and what are we doing while we are living here, that’s … kinda what it’s about,” he said. “The album is going to take you on a little trip.”