- World No 1 had withdrawn to protest racial injustice
- Western & Southern Open matches off until Friday
Naomi Osaka has decided that she will take to the court to compete in her semi-final at the Western & Southern Open on Friday after she joined the widespread boycott by stars from various American sports. The 2018 US Open champion’s match against Elise Mertens was scheduled to be played on Thursday until Osaka joined strikes by players from the NBA, WNBA, MLS following the shooting of Jacob Blake by police in Kenosha.
The tournament later responded to Osaka’s announcement with a significant concession by “pausing tournament play” and rescheduling all of its matches, including the men’s and women’s semi-finals, for Friday. Caught up in the shuffle was the men’s world No 1, Novak Djokovic, who was due to face Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-finals.
Written by Exclusive by Tumaini Carayol
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/aug/27/naomi-osaka-opts-to-compete-in-western-southern-open-semi-final-tennis under the title “Naomi Osaka opts to play semi-final after Thursday postponement”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
