Newsletter

After all, Osaka will play in the Western and Southern Open semi-finals

After all Naomi Osaka will play in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open.

The day after she said she would withdraw from the hard-court event to protest the “continuing genocide of blacks at the hands of the police” – prompting the tournament to suspend all matches on Thursday – the two-time Grand Slam champion and former Player No. 1 changed course.

His agent has confirmed that Osaka will face Elise Mertens’ number 14 when play resumes on Friday with the semi-finals. The finals have been moved from Friday to Saturday.

“As you know, I withdrew from the tournament yesterday to support racial injustice and continued police violence. I was (and am) ready and ready to concede the match to my opponent, “Osaka said in a statement to the Guardian newspaper.” However, after my announcement and lengthy consultation with the WTA and USTA, I accepted, at their request, to play on Friday. They offered to postpone all matches to Friday and in my mind this brings more attention to the movement. I want to thank the WTA and the tournament for their support. “

Osaka, whose father is from Haiti and mother is from Japan, joined pro athletes in basketball, baseball and football to demand a change on Wednesday in response to the shooting of Jacob Blake, a black man, by police in Wisconsin.

Osaka tweeted Wednesday that, as a woman of color, “I feel like there are far more important matters at hand that need immediate attention than watching me play tennis. I don’t expect anything drastic to happen except I play, but if I can get a conversation started in a predominantly white sport, I consider it a step in the right direction. Watching the continuing genocide of blacks at the hands of the police genocally makes me sick. “

All NBA and WNBA games, three Major League Baseball games, and five of six Major League Soccer games were canceled Wednesday because the athletes denounced racial injustice.

The Western & Southern Open is usually held in Ohio, but has been moved to the New York site of the US Open this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. The US Open is expected to start on Monday.

© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, transmitted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending