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Naomi Osaka mentioned she desires to be recognized for extra than simply tennis, suggesting she’s going to preserve campaigning for racial justice after profitable her third Grand Slam on the US Open Saturday. Osaka, of Japanese and Haitian heritage, wore totally different masks honoring victims of systemic racism and police brutality within the United States in every of the event’s seven rounds. The 22-year-old mentioned considering time throughout the coronavirus lockdown, which coincided with protests throughout the United States over the police killing of black man George Floyd, had led to her political awakening.
“I would definitely say it’s been an important few months,” Osaka informed reporters after coming from a set right down to beat Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“For me, my life was always go-go tennis-wise, especially after the previous US Open that I won (in 2018). It definitely accelerated things, and I’ve never had a chance to slow down.
“The quarantine positively gave me an opportunity to suppose rather a lot about issues — what I wish to accomplish, what I would like folks to recollect me by. I got here into this event, or these two tournaments, with that mindset.”
Osaka first took an activist stance at the Western & Southern Open, a US Open tuneup event, when she threatened not to play her semi-final match in protest at the police shooting of black man Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
She said she was “sick to her abdomen” and “exhausted” by repeated violence against black people by US police.
Her decision prompted the WTA and ATP to postpone all semi-final matches by a day, inspiring Osaka to change her mind and make herself available for the final.
Osaka’s move came after the Milwaukee Bucks led a historic boycott over the shooting, forcing the NBA to halt its playoff schedule and prompting a wave of walkouts across multiple sports.
She walked onto the court for her first match at the US Open wearing a mask bearing the name Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician who was killed when police shot her in her own apartment in March.
Osaka then donned face coverings honoring Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and Philando Castile.
In Saturday’s final she honored Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old African-American boy who was shot dead by a white police officer in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014.
Boyfriend’s books
During the tournament Osaka received video messages from Arbery’s father and Martin’s mother thanking her for her bringing worldwide attention to their stories.
She said Saturday that she would like to meet relatives of the victims.
“Definitely. I really feel like for me I be taught extra via experiences. For me, I really feel like sharing tales and listening to folks’s experiences could be very invaluable,” she said.
Osaka added that her boyfriend, the rapper Cordae, who supported her from the stands at the US Open, had influenced her views about racial and social justice.
“I’ve learn rather a lot into Haitian historical past. My dad all the time talks about that,” mentioned Osaka.
Promoted
“For me, my boyfriend’s actually like into studying rather a lot, so he is been passing me books.
“I try not to get most of my information from the news. I try to form my own opinion sort of.”
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