Naomi Osaka brought seven masks to the US Open to highlight racial injustice and based on her showing in Tuesday’s quarter-final match, Flushing Meadows looks destined to see them all.
Before her 6-3, 6-4 victory over Shelby Rogers, the former champion unveiled the fifth mask, emblazoned with the name of George Floyd, the black American who died in police custody in May in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Two more remain in Osaka’s kit bag for the semi-final against Jenny Brady of the US and potentially her second US Open final at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday.
Photo: AFP
“I just have a feeling,” she told ESPN, explaining how she decided which mask to wear. “I feel like I’m a vessel in order to spread awareness.”
The highlighting of the issue has taken a little of the focus away from what has been a highly impressive tournament for the fourth seed as she has made her way to her third Grand Slam semi-final.
On Tuesday, she made just eight unforced errors across two sets against a player with some big shots who she had never beaten before.
“She played pretty flawless,” Rogers said. “I think she can go a couple more if she wants. She’s more confident in who she is, what her game is, how to play.”
Osaka, who at 22 has two Grand Slam titles after winning the 2018 US Open and backing up at last year’s Australian Open, said that she spent a lot of time during the COVID-19 shutdown thinking about her approach to tennis.
“Honestly, the whole of 2019 after I won Australia, I just put too much pressure on myself, I wasn’t enjoying it,” Osaka said. “When you come out on Ashe, there’s a Billy Jean King quote: ‘Pressure is a privilege,’ and I feel it’s unbelievably true.”
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