Osaka boycotts match to protest over racism
NEW YORK Tennis star Naomi Osaka has pulled out of her semi-final at the Western & Southern Open in protest at the “continued genocide of Black people at the hands of police”.
Osaka, a former world No 1 and two-times grand slam champion, said on Twitter that she was withdrawing from her match against Elise Mertens to draw attention to racism and police brutality.
Shortly after she spoke, organisers suspended all matches at the tournament for one day. The men's and women's tours — the ATP Tour and the WTA — and the US Tennis Association said they wanted to "recognise this moment in time by pausing the tournament". Matches will resume today.
Osaka said: "Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of police is honestly making me sick to my stomach.
"I'm exhausted of having a new hashtag pop up every few days and I'm extremely tired of having this same conversation over and over again.
"When will it ever be enough?"
It follows another eruption of protests in the United States after police shot a 29-year-old black man, Jacob Blake, on Sunday night. Mr Blake was left paralysed.
Protests over the shooting, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, spread to a third night and on Tuesday night a 17-yearold self-appointed militia member was arrested and charged with murder after two people were shot and killed.
Osaka, who was born in Japan to a Haitian father and a Japanese mother and moved to the US when she was three, said that by withdrawing from her match she hoped to raise awareness about race issues in tennis. "Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman," she said. "And as a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis.
"I don't expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction."
Osaka has frequently used her social media influence to speak out against racism:
Osaka is one of the most marketable tennis players in the women's game and one of the most influential athletes in the world. In 2020, she became the highest-paid female athlete of all-time, after earning $37,4 million in endorsements.
Her move follows a wave of sporting boycotts in the US. On Wednesday, the NBA was forced to postpone play-off games after the Milwaukee Bucks pulled out of their match against the Orlando Magic.
The Brewers, Milwaukee's Major League Baseball team, also boycotted their match on Wednesday against the Cincinnati Reds. Elsewhere, the Women's NBA postponed its fixtures on Wednesday, while Major League Soccer also called off five matches. Telegraph