Naomi Osaka arrived on court for her opening US Open game on Monday wearing a face mask bearing the name of Breonna Taylor, the African-American nurse shot dead by police who raided her apartment in Kentucky in March.
By the time the US Open fortnight is over, Osaka says she hopes to have honored the memory of six other victims of racial injustice.
“For me, I just want to spread awareness,” Osaka said after her 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win in first round.
“I’m aware that tennis is watched all over the world, and maybe there is someone that doesn’t know Breonna Taylor’s story. Maybe they’ll Google it or something. For me, just spreading awareness. I feel like the more people know the story, then the more interesting or interested they’ll become in it.”
Osaka, of Haitian and Japanese heritage, said she has six other masks bearing the names of black people killed by police that she hoped to wear throughout the Grand Slam.
“I have seven and it’s quite sad that seven is not enough for the amount of names,” Osaka said. “Hopefully I’ll get to the finals and you’ll see all of them.”
The 22-year-old has spoken out repeatedly in the wake of the protests that swept the US following the death of George Floyd during a confrontation with police in May.