Fans are disappointed after Naomi Osaka announced on Thursday that she will not play in the French Open. The young tennis star took to Twitter and informed her fans in English and Japanese that she will not play due to a hamstring injury.
“Unfortunately I won’t be able to play the French Open this year, my hamstring is still sore so I won’t have enough time to prepare for the clay — these 2 tournaments came too close to each other for me this time. I wish the organizers and players all the best,” she wrote.
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According to ESPN, Osaka’s hamstring was taped when she recently played in the US Open final in New York. She also received immense praise for her activism during the tournament. She wore seven different face masks displaying the names of Black people who were recently killed by police officers during her matches.
Osaka used her platform as a global star to shed light on racial injustices here in America to those who may not be aware. She also decided to sit out of her semifinal match in protest of a Black man who killed at the hands of police in Wisconsin, Jacob Blake.
Despite receiving praise for her activism from most, she also received a lot of hate. theGrio, previously reported that trolls insisted she keep politics out of sports. She shot back on Twitter this week, letting her haters know they only motivate her.
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“All the people that were telling me to “keep politics out of sports”, (which it wasn’t political at all), really inspired me to win,” she said on Tuesday. “You better believe I’m gonna try to be on your tv for as long as possible.”
“I remember Trayvon’s death clearly,” she continued. “I remember being a kid and just feeling scared. I know his death wasn’t the first but for me, it was the one that opened my eyes to what was going on. To see the same things happening over and over still is sad.”
Despite the push back Osaka recently earned her third major title and won 11 matches in a row.
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