Osaka honours racial victims

New York, Sept. 1: Naomi Osaka arrived on court for her opening US Open game on Monday wearing a face mask bearing the name of Breonna Taylor, the AfricanAmerican nurse shot dead by police who raided her apartment in Kentucky in March. By the time the US Open fortnight is over, Osaka says she hopes to have honoured the memory of six other victims of racial injustice.

“For me, I just want to spread awareness,” Osaka said after her 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Japanese compatriot Misaki Doi.

“I’m aware that tennis is watched all over the world, and maybe there is someone that doesn’t know Breonna Taylor’s story. Maybe they’ll Google it or something. For me, just spreading awareness. I feel like the more people know the story, then the more interesting or interested they’ll become in it,” the fourth seed added.

Osaka, of Haitian and Japanese heritage, said she has six other masks bearing the names of black people killed by police that she hoped to wear through the Grand Slam. “I have seven and it’s quite sad that seven is not enough for the amount of names,” she said.

The 22-year-old has spoken out repeatedly in the wake of the protests that swept USA following the death of George Floyd during a confrontation with police in May.

Osaka said she is increasingly comfortable in her role as athlete activist. “A lot of people ask me if I feel more stressed out ever since I started speaking out more. To be honest, not really. At this point, if you don’t like me, it is what it is,” she said. —