Tennis Star, Naomi Osaka withdraws from semifinal match to protest “continued genocide of Black people”

By Adekunle Badmus

Tennis star Naomi Osaka said Wednesday she’s skipping out on her semifinal match in the Western & Southern Open to protest racial injustice.

After she announced her decision, tennis officials paused play at the tournament in Cincinnati for Thursday.

Following the Milwaukee Bucks players’ boycott of an NBA playoff game, Osaka and other teams in different pro sports followed suit.

In an Instagram post, the 22-year-old said in English and Japanese that she was tired of the Police violence against Black people, mentioning Jacob Blake, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain and George Floyd.

Osaka, who was named the world’s highest-paid female sports athlete earlier this year, said she would not be playing her Thursday match.

“…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,” the former No. 1 ranked player said.

“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.”

“Watching the continued genocide of Black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach,” she added.