Naomi Osaka talks about about why she's speaking out; qualifies for the U.S. Open's semifinals;

"Being 'not racist' is not enough. We have to be anti-racist."

--NAOMI OSAKA

Without telling anybody -- not even her agent-manager or coach -- Naomi Osaka went to Minneapolis to join the demonstrations caused by the death of George Floyd. She went  with her boyfriend, the musician and rapper YBN Cordae. 

“Whenever I have a chance to see something for myself, I jump on it,” Osaka, told the Wall St. Journal. “I’ve always watched protests on TV, and I never had the chance to go because I was always playing tennis.”

Marching with the protesters and listening to the speakers, it was the first time she had taken a break from playing tennis since she began training at a very young age, she says.

“Everyone was so passionate,” Osaka tells the Journal. “There were constantly things going on and people talking to each other about who’s organizing this rally and things like that. I thought it was really powerful.”

What she learned from those few days in Minneapolis: "Being 'not racist' is not enough. We have to be anti-racist."

Floyd's May 25 death while being arrested was videotaped by onlookers to the point Floyd, a Black man, lost consciousness from having a policeman's knee pinning him by the neck. His death and the viral video re-energized the Black Lives Matter movement and sparked worldwide demonstrations against racial injustice that continues to this day and has become an issue in the 2020 Presidential race.

Tuesday (Sept. 8), before and after her match at the U.S. Open, she wore a face mask with George Floyd's name on it. It's the fifth mask she's worn during the tournament. She has two more masks to wear -- enough to reach the finals.

She beat Shelby Rogers, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals, an opponent she has never beaten in their three previous encounters. Osaka's win at the U.S. Open sets up a semifinal match against Jennifer Brady, 25, from Pennsylvania.

In keeping with the COVID-19 social distance protocols, the tourney is being played without fans in attendance.

In interviews after her match with Rogers, she was visibly moved talking about her personal demonstration to bring attention to the deaths of African Americans, which she says, "didn't have to happen."

She had received messages from the families of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery, two of the names stenciled on masks that she wore in her earlier matches. She also wore masks with Breonna Taylor and Elijah McClain.

"I don't know. I feel like I'm a vessel, at this point, and in order to spread awareness and, hopefully, it's not going to dull the pain, but hopefully I can, you know, help with anything that they need," said Osaka.

"It means a lot; I feel like they're so strong, I'm not sure what I would be able to do if I was in their position," she said when talking about the families.

In an August article for Esquire, Osaka writes why she's decided to use her platform for the cause of social justice.

In the past few months, I’ve re-evaluated what’s actually important in my life. It’s a reset that perhaps I greatly needed. I asked myself, “If I couldn’t play tennis, what could I be doing to make a difference?” I decided it was time to speak up...for every George, there is a Brionna, a Michael, a Rayshard. The sad list goes on. That’s just the tragedies captured on camera. I remember watching the outrage at Michael Brown’s case in 2014, and nothing has really changed since. Black people have been fighting this oppression alone for so many years and progress has been fleeting at best. Being “not racist” is not enough. We have to be anti-racist.

Osaka will play Brady in semi-final match on the US Open courts in Queens, New York City on Thursday, Sept.10.