“I thought it would be very embarrassing to lose in under an hour,” said Naomi Osaka, who regrouped and came back to win two straight sets and capture her second US Open title.
The women’s championship was played Sept. 12 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. The tournament features players from all over the world.
Osaka’s journey to her second championship in women’s singles wasn’t a breeze. The 22-year-old Japanese native started the tournament playing Camila Giorgi, winning in two sets, followed by the third round where she beat Marta Kostyuk in three sets, then moving forward to the round of 16 defeating fourteenth ranked Anett Kontaveit in two sets. She then played Shelby Rogers from the U.S. in the quarter final, defeating her in two sets. In the semifinal Osaka defeated twenty-eighth ranked Jennifer Brady in hardfought sets to advance to the championship match against Victoria Azarenka.
The championship against Azarenka was a struggle for Osaka early. Osaka has two Grand Slams titles but Azarenka has four titles. In the first set, Azarenka dominated Osaka 6-1, giving Azarenka the edge. But Osaka came back with two straight dominating sets, 6-3, 6-3, to win the championship.
Osaka used her win as a platform to discuss social justice. She wore seven different masks walking into each of her matches, each with the name of a different Black victim of alleged racial violence.
Osaka said on CNN, “I feel like the point is to make people start talking. I’m aware that tennis is watched all over the world, and maybe there is someone that doesn’t know Breonna Taylor’s story.”
