Before and after first-round victory at the U.S Open, Naomi Osaka wore a mask bearing the name of Breonna Taylor, A Black Woman who was fatally shot by police.
It’s one of the seven face coverings, each in honour of a different person, that Osaka brought to Flushing Meadows. The world’s highest earning athelete hopes she can get the chance to raise awareness about racial injustice by using eaching mask during her stay in New York.
It’s quite sad that seven masks isn’t enough for the amount of names, so hopefully I’ll get to the finals so you can see all of them, said Osaka, the champion at the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Australian Open.
Osaka walked out on court for her match Monday night with a black mask and white lettering with the name of Taylor, a 26-year-old who was fatally shot when police officers burst into her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation in March.
Osaka put the mask back on for her post-match interview.
US Open began on August 31 with no fans, no singles defending champions and no mixed doubles, and a handful of restrictions.
After the French Open was postponed to late September and Wimbledon was cancelled amid the ongoing pandemic, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) decided to go forward with its marquee event in New York City in order to offset the loss of money from ticket sales and other onsite revenue during the summer.
Apart from spectators, former champions like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and others will also be missing from the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre.
With two of the ‘Big Three’ missing from the tournament, Novak Djokovic has a strong chance of extending his Grand Slam record to 18 wins. On the other hand, Serena Williams will resume her quest for a record-equalling 24th singles triumph at a major in a depleted competition.
