Congratulations to 22 year old Naomi Osaka who won her second U.S. Open title this weekend, defeating Victoria Azarenka in a 3 set win.
She said earlier this year that she was “done being shy,” and tennis star Naomi Osaka duly found her voice at the 2020 US Open. Osaka, 22, won the tournament on Saturday by coming from behind to beat Belarusian Victoria Azarenka in a thrilling three-set final.
Having produced some of the best tennis of her young career on the court to seal her third grand slam title, off it Osaka also made a statement at this year’s tournament.
Osaka brought seven face masks to the tournament to wear for her pre-game interviews -- each with a different victim's name. Leading up to the championship match, she honored Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile and Tamir Rice. In each of her seven matches, she wore a face covering displaying the name of a different Black victim of alleged police or racist violence in the US — from Breonna Taylor in her first round-match against Misaki Doi to Tamir Rice in the final against Azarenka.
“I feel like the point is to make people start talking,” Osaka said.
Following the match, Osaka congratulated her opponent and then laid down in the middle of the court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York -- where a sparse, socially-distanced crowd was allowed to view the championship round -- to soak in her victory.
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