Tennis Player Osaka Withdraws From WTA Semifinal In NYC In Protest Of Blake Shooting

Tennis Player Osaka Withdraws From WTA Semifinal in NYC in Protest of Blake Shooting

Naomi Osaka, the two-time major tennis champion and current no. 10 representing Japan, has withdrawn from Thursday's Western & Southern Open semifinal match in New York City over the police shooting of African American man Jacob Blake in Wisconsi

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th August, 2020) Naomi Osaka, the two-time major tennis champion and current no. 10 representing Japan, has withdrawn from Thursday's Western & Southern Open semifinal match in New York City over the police shooting of African American man Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

"Before I am a athlete, I am a black woman. And as a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis. I don't expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction," Osaka, whose parents are Japanese and Haitian, wrote on Twitter.

Organizers of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced hours after the two-time Grand Slam champion informed of her withdrawal that the tournament would be suspended until Friday.

"As a sport, tennis is collectively taking a stance against racial inequality and social injustice that once again has been thrust to the forefront in the United States. The [United States Tennis Association] USTA, ATP Tour, and WTA have decided to recognise this moment in time by pausing tournament play at the Western & Southern Open on Thursday, August 27. Play will resume on Friday, August 28," the organizers' statement read.

Blake, 29, was shot in the back by police at close range on Sunday in the US city of Kenosha, while he was reportedly trying to break up a fight between two women. His father said the man had been shot seven times, which left him paralyzed from the waist down.

This ignited a new wave of protests against police brutality and racial discrimination in the United States, which initially started with the death of another African-American man, George Floyd, in police custody on May 25.