Tennis star Naomi Osaka
(Picture: Justin French)Tennis star Naomi Osaka says she found her voice when she followed her “instincts” to protest about the killing of black Americans by US police officers.
The 24-year-old multiple grand slam winner made headlines at the 2020 US Open when she wore masks with the names of seven people including George Floyd who were killed by police — violence that sparked the growth of the Black Lives Matter movement.
She told Dazed Magazine: “I think that was definitely the first time I realised that I had a voice, and it could be used in a positive way. I just went with my instincts.”
She joined a protest in Minneapolis after Floyd was killed in May 2020 and later that year demanded a US match be rescheduled because she was filming a tribute video to him.
Osaka, who was born in Japan but grew up in the US with her father’s family from Haiti, said she benefits from her mixed race background.
“This is really my strength: being unique and also having diverse life experiences which have made me more tolerant, accepting and curious. I can feel myself having different characteristics from each parent... I am quite soft-spoken, from my Japanese side, but I think my fierce competitiveness comes from my Haitian side.”
Osaka, sponsored by Nike, has also worked on a collaboration with the sportswear brand and fashion label Comme des Garcons and wore a surrealist creation by a Japanese designer for a photoshoot.
