(Photo Credit: Al Bello / Staff via Getty Images)
Naomi Osaka has won her second U.S. Open title on Saturday after defeating Victoria Azarenka 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win the championship event.
This victory makes Osaka a three-time Grand Slam singles champion. She previously won the U.S. Open in 2018 and the Australian Open in 2019.
Osaka's victory is not the only aspect of her participation in the U.S. Open to receive attention. Throughout the competition, Osaka has sported face masks labeled with the names of Black victims of police brutality.
Forbes reports that "tennis star Naomi Osaka has used her run to the U.S. Open finals to draw attention to police brutality and racism by donning face masks with the names of Black people killed in violent interactions with either police or others allegedly motivated by racism—and in her finals match Saturday, she unveiled the seventh and last mask name: Tamir Rice, the 12-year-old boy killed by police in Cleveland in 2014."
Osaka has used her position in the public eye to advocate for justice and equality for marginalized people and said, "...I feel like I'm a vessel at this point, in order to spread awareness. It's not going to dull the pain, but hopefully I can help with anything that they need.”
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