Naomi Osaka said she wants to be known for more than just tennis, suggesting she will keep campaigning for racial justice after winning he...
Naomi Osaka said she wants to be known for more than just tennis, suggesting she will keep campaigning for racial justice after winning her third Grand Slam at the US Open Saturday.
Osaka, of Japanese and Haitian heritage, wore different masks honoring victims of systemic racism and police brutality in the United States in each of the tournament’s seven rounds.
The 22-year-old said thinking time during the coronavirus lockdown, which coincided with protests across the United States over the police killing of black man George Floyd, had led to her political awakening.
Twitter reacts to Naomi Osaka’s superb come-from-behind win in US Open final
“I would definitely say it’s been an important few months,” Osaka told reporters after coming from a set 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 definitely gave me a chance to think a lot about things – what I want to accomplish, what I want people to remember me by. I came into this tournament, or these two tournaments, with that mindset.”
Osaka first took an activist stance at the...
