(CNN) One of Naomi Osaka's Japanese sponsors has apologized after releasing an advertisement which has been widely accused of "whitewashing" the tennis star's skin tone.
The 2018 US Open winner is featured in the ad as an anime character for instant noodle giant Nissin, alongside fellow Japanese tennis player Kei Nishikori.
Critics allege the cartoon depicts Osaka, who is half Japanese and half Haitian, as having pale skin, light brown hair and Caucasian features.
A screengrab from a commercial produced by Japanese noodle maker Nissin, featuring tennis stars Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori.
"I was truly disappointed to see that there was no woman of color to speak of in the commercial. Instead, I found a white-washed representation of Osaka," Baye McNeil, an African-American columnist who writes for the English-language Japan Times, said in his "Black Eye" column.
Noodle maker Nissin said that it did not intend to whitewash the 20-year-old tennis star, who holds dual Japanese and American citizenship.
"There is no intention of whitewashing," Nissin spokesman Daisuke Okabayashi confirmed to CNN. "We accept that we are not sensitive enough and will pay more attention to diversity issues in the future."
He said that the video had been shown to Osaka before it was released, adding that Nissin would stop using the ad and remove it from YouTube following a request from the player's management company, IMG.
The Japanese company has apologized for the perceptions formed around the ad, which it said were unintentional.
The ad was illustrated by anime artist Takeshi Konomi, famous for his "Prince of Tennis" cartoon. The company did not say whether it would be discontinued following the backlash.
Osaka, who is in the semifinals of the Australian Open following her straight-sets victory over Ukraine's Elina Svitolina Wednesday, is ranked 4th in the world and won her first grand slam title at Flushing Meadows last summer.
It was also the first time a Japanese player had won one of tennis' four Grand Slams.
Naomi Osaka: US Open champion's career in pictures
- After turning professional in September 2013, Osaka made her WTA main-draw debut at the 2014 Bank of the West Classic. The then 16-year-old showed her promise by defeating former grand slam champion Samantha Stosur in her opening match. The eventual winner of that tournament? Serena Williams.
- Fast forward a year and the young Japanese player was beginning to work her way up the world rankings. She ended 2015 by winning the 2015 Rising Stars Invitational exhibition, defeating Caroline Garcia in the final.
- Osaka reached her first grand slam at the 2016 Australian Open. The 18-year-old qualifier progressed to the the third round, before being roundly beaten by eventual winner Victoria Azarenka. Osaka went on to reach the third round at both Rolland Garros and the US Open later that year.
- Osaka finished 2016 by reaching her first WTA final. After being handed a wildcard to compete at the Toray Pan Pacific Open, the youngster (left) finished runner-up behind Caroline Wozniacki (right). The successful year yielded rich rewards for Osaka. She broke into the world Top 50, signed a worldwide marketing agreement and was voted newcomer of the year at the WTA Awards.
- Osaka built on her breakthrough 2016 by playing in all four grand slams in 2017. Performing consistently on the biggest stage enabled the youngster to test herself against the world elite. Perhaps her most notable victory came in the first round of the 2017 US Open. Osaka defeated defending champion Angelique Kerber in straight sets, before being knocked out in the third round.
- After achieving her best grand slam finish at the 2018 Australian Open (fourth round), Osaka won her first WTA title at the 2018 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells. She cemented herself as a future star with wins against former world No.1's Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep on her way to victory.
- In March 2018, Osaka was pitted against her tennis hero for the first time, in the first round of the Miami Open. It was Serena's fourth comeback match since giving birth and Osaka ran away with a comfortable straight sets victory.
- The pair then met for a second time, at the 2018 US Open final. Serena was aiming for her 24th Grand Slam title and Osaka was competing in her first grand slam final. Amid controversy involving her opponent and the umpire, the 20-year-old Japanese star deservedly won in straight sets for her biggest career win to date, earning $3.8 million in the process.
The final, in which she beat Serena Williams, was overshadowed by controversy surrounding the 23-time major winner's outburst at the referee.
That saga also prompted an allegedly racist cartoon, when an Australian cartoonist depicted Williams with large, exaggerated lips and a nose reminiscent of racist depictions of black people in the US during the Jim Crow era. In that image, Osaka was portrayed as a blonde woman with pale skin.
The US-based National Association of Black Journalists said the cartoon was "repugnant on many levels."
Osaka's grand slam win captured the attention of Japan, which has not produced a female player in the world top 10 since 2004.
Correction: This story has been updated to clarify the name of the sponsor on first reference.