Naomi Osaka, a two-time major tennis champion and one of the world’s top tennis players, announced she is sitting out the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open tournament to protest the shooting of Jacob Blake and other victims of police brutality.
Osaka made her announcement on social media.
“Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman,” she wrote in a statement shared on Twitter and Instagram. “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.”
After Osaka’s Tweet, the Western & Southern Open tournament announced there would be no play Thursday before resuming Friday.
“Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach,” Osaka wrote in her post. “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?”
Osaka ended her post with the hashtags, Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain and George Floyd.
