Naomi Osaka won the US Open final to earn her third Grand Slam tournament victory and her second US Open title. She defeated Victoria Azarenka in three sets and secured the match.
Although she started slow, Osaka gradually discovers her range. She becomes the second player to win U.S. Open women’s single’s final after losing the first set.
What Went Down The Match?
At the start, Osaka taps her racket with Victoria Azarenka’s, thanks the chair umpire and consults with one WTA Tour media official on the coming commitments.
Then she takes a moment and returns to the blue court where she won in 2018. She folds her hands while dropping to the surface and stares at the open roof above.
She says “I was thinking about all the times I’ve watched the great players sort of collapse onto the ground and look up into the sky…I’ve always wanted to see what they saw.”
On Saturday, she returns to the top in women’s tennis with her spectacular 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 win.
The ‘Ashe Stadium’ was almost empty, as it has been throughout this US Open as fans were not allowed entry because of the pandemic.
Osaka Also Spoke Against Systemic Racism And Police Violence
Not only did she take on some of the world’s toughest players, but also some of the gravest social issues.
Osaka became deeply involved in the social justice movement. She attended a rally in Minneapolis and spoke out her views anywhere she could.
When she returned to the tour in New York, she continues her activism.
Osaka wore seven masks with seven different names for all her matches. She did so to honour Black victims of violence.
On Saturday, she wears the mask bearing Tamir Rice’s name. Rice was a 12-year-old boy from Cleveland, who was shot by a white police officer in 2014.
Osaka says at the award ceremony “The point is to make people start talking”.
Her talent and the immense confidence that radiates from her voice makes that inevitable.
