Taking a stand against racial injustice has boosted Naomi Osaka's motivation and energy going into this year's U.S. Open, her coach Wim Fissette told reporters on Monday.
Former world No. 1 Osaka has walked onto court wearing a different mask dedicated to a Black American who has suffered racial injustice in the United States in each of her matches at Flushing Meadows this year.
Osaka withdrew from her semifinal at the Western & Southern Open following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in Wisconsin, but later changed her mind after the sport's governing bodies paused the tournament for a day as a show of support.