Tennis star Naomi Osaka has spoken up after single-handedly bringing the sport to a halt with her bombshell protest during the week.
Osaka saved 18 of 21 break points in her 6-2 7-6 victory, advancing to the championship match against two-time Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka in the same New York COVID-19 quarantine bubble where the US Open begins on Monday.
Watch LIVE coverage of the US Open from the opening round to the finals with ESPN on Kayo. New to Kayo?“My service game was tougher than normal. I’m glad I was able to save 18 of them,” Osaka said. “Preparing for this match was a bit stressful but I’m glad I was able to close it out.
“After my quarters match I saw everything the NBA was doing. Then I felt like I also needed to raise my voice, too. So I called Stu, my agent, and we talked it over. Then we called the WTA, and they said that they would love to support and they were going to push play back a day. So I put out my statement.Osaka also denied backflipping on a decision to continue in the tournament, clarifying she only voiced her intention to sit out for one day, not the entire event.
“I feel like this is where everyone gets confused, because I didn’t say I was going to withdraw from the tournament. I just said I wasn’t going to play the next day,” Osaka said. “I don’t feel like I’m being brave. I just feel like I’m doing what I should be doing. So honestly, when people say courageous or anything, I don’t really resonate that well with it.“It’s definitely a bit eye-opening but in an odd way, because I only previously thought the Big Three and Serena would have that type of power.”
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