The first Asian tennis player ever to claim the Women’s Tennis Association number one ranking Naomi Osaka, scripted history when she defeated veteran campaigner and 23 times Grand Slam winner Serena William in the US Open in 2018. The Japanese tennis player has since won two more Grand Slams titles with her latest triumph coming in 2020.
In a year marred by the coronavirus pandemic, Osaka started her Australian Open 2020 campaign on a catastrophic note crashing out of the tournament in the third round.
The 23-year-old, however, made a triumphant comeback in the US Open 2020, lifting her third Grand Slam title by defeating Victoria Azarenka 1-6,6-3,6-3. Her victory in the final ensured her second US Open title and third major overall. She also became the first player since A Sanchez Vicario in 1994 to win the US Open women’s singles title after dropping the first set.
On her way to the finals of the US Open, Osaka defeated heavyweight Jennifer Brady in the quarter-final, winning 7-6,3-6,6-3.
The WTA rank one, Osaka, endured a hamstring injury on her way to title glory and hence had to withdraw from the French Open.
Osaka’s breathtaking on-field performance in the US Open was coupled with her advocacy for the Black Lives Matter movement during the tournament. Osaka sported seven different face masks advocating her support for the movement for each round of the tournament. Every single mask sported by Osaka also contained the names of black individuals whose deaths made the headlines during America’s protest about racial justice following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
Following her victory in the tournament, Osaka said that the sporting of the masks was her way of using her platform to protest against the deep-seated issue of racial inequality in America.
