Naomi Osaka wins as a tennis player and activist

Fabiola Candal Ranalli
Staff Writer/MC301

Naomi Osaka, who occupies the third position in the Women’s Tennis Association ranking, has recently placed first place in the US Open 2020, one of the four most important tournaments in the tennis world.

Osaka, who was born in Japan and raised in the United States, has represented Japan since she was younger. She has become the first Japanese tennis player who has held the top ranking in singles. She is recently well known by many Americans for supporting the “Black Lives Matter” movement.

To show her support and activism, Osaka wore seven different facemasks in support of victims of police violence and racism before every match. Every mask showed the name of victims; Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile, and finally Tamir Rice.

Osaka stated that she had seven different masks after winning the first round.

“It’s quite sad that seven masks isn’t enough for the amount of names, so hopefully I’ll get to the finals and you can see all of them,” Osaka told reporters.

Osaka had some tough matches throughout the tournament. Her first round was against the Japanese Misaki Doi, winning the match with a score of 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. Her first match did not stop her from getting to the finals and finally taking home the championship.

In the second round, she faced the Italian Camila Giorgi, winning with a score of 6-1 and 6-2. In the third round, she played against the Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, winning the match with a score of 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2.

“It was a great touch of humility, the fact of wearing masks and showing them to the world. Those victims will be always remembered,” said Noelle Frenzel, a sophomore tennis player at Jackson State University.

After every match, she explained what every victim meant to her, starting with Taylor and ending with Rice in the finals. She dominated in her performance in the round of 16 and quarterfinals.

In the semifinals, she faced another tough opponent in Jennifer Brady and won the match with a score of 7-6 (7/1), 3-6, 6-3.

Finally, in her last match, she donned the Tamir Rice’s facemask, and beat Victoria Azarenka, the current No. 1 tennis player in the world with a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Many felt that Osaka found a larger cause to motivate herself and avoid distractions during the tournament, showing her protests on the court and in the interviews after every match.

“It was a tough match. I liked watching her play with that aggressiveness and confidence,” said Francisco Vargas, a junior student-athlete at JSU.