Naomi Osaka wore a mask bearing the name of Breonna Taylor. She wore it before and after her first-round victory at the US Open. Breonna Taylor was a black woman who was fatally shot by police.
Osaka brought seven face coverings to Flushing Meadows – the same number of wins it takes to claim a Grand Slam trophy. Each of her face coverings are in honour of a different person.
Osaka hopes that she can get the chance to raise awareness about racial injustice by using each mask during her stay in New York.
“It’s quite sad that seven masks isn’t enough for the amount of names, so hopefully I’ll get to the finals so you can see all of them,” said Osaka.
The world’s highest-earning female athlete walked out on court for her match on Monday night with a black mask and white lettering with Breonna Taylor’s name. She was a 26-year-old shot when police officers burst into her Louisville, Kentucky apartment. They used a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation in March.
Osaka put the mask back on for her post-match interview.
Osaka is now 34-1 in Grand Slam matches when taking the first set; the only loss came against Simona Halep at the 2016 French Open.
Next up for her is a match against Camila Giorgi of Italy.
“She’s very unpredictable for me,” Osaka said, “so I guess I just have to be on my toes.”