Japan’s Naomi Osaka withdrew from her WTA Western & Southern Open semifinal match on Thursday in New York to protest the police shooting of an unarmed black man in Wisconsin.
Osaka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, was to have faced Belgian Elise Mertens in the same quarantine bubble where the US Open will be played starting on Monday.
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“Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman.
“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,” Osaka posted in a statement on Twitter.
“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.”
Her move comes in the wake of African-American Jacob Blake being shot on Sunday in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks boycotting their scheduled playoff game Wednesday.
All NBA playoff games Wednesday were eventually postponed and Major League Baseball and Women’s NBA clubs followed suit before Osaka became the trailblazer in tennis.
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