Naomi Osaka says she stopped wearing hoodies over racism fears as she wears Trayvon Martin mask during US Open

Naomi Osaka has reflected on Trayvon Martin’s death after wearing a mask with his name on it for her US Open match against Anett Kontaveit, revealing she didn’t wear a hoodie for years because she was afraid of looking “suspicious”.

Since the competition began, the tennis star has worn masks bearing the names of black people who have been killed in the US in instances of racial injustice.

On Sunday, for her fourth match, the tennis star wore a black mask with Martin’s name on it while entering Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. Martin, an unarmed black teenager, was fatally shot in 2012 by then-neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman.

After defeating Kontaveit to advance to the quarterfinals, Osaka opened up about the 17-year-old’s death on social media, where she said she “has a lot to say about this”.

“I remember Trayvon’s death clearly,” she captioned an Instagram photo of herself wearing the mask with Martin’s name. “I remember being a kid and just feeling scared.”

According to the 22-year-old athlete, she didn’t wear hoodies for “years” following Martin’s death because she “wanted to decrease the odds of ‘looking suspicious’”.

“I know his death wasn’t the first, but for me it was the one that opened my eyes to what was going on,” she continued. “I remember watching the events unfold on TV and wondering what was taking so long, why was justice not being served.

“To see the same things happening over and over still is sad. Things have to change.”

Earlier this month, Osaka, who has worn masks with the names of Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Elijah McClain during the competition, said that she has seven masks that correlate with the deaths of black people in the US.

“I actually have seven [masks], and it's quite sad that seven masks isn't enough for the amount of names, so hopefully I'll get to the finals and you can see all of them," Osaka told reporters following her first win.

On Friday, the professional tennis star wore a face mask with Arbery’s name. He was a 25-year-old who was killed in February while jogging in his Georgia neighbourhood.

“I would like everyone to know that it was completely avoidable — this did not have to happen," Osaka told reporters of Arbery's death following her win against Marta Kostyuk. "None of these deaths had to happen. I just want everyone to know the names."

This is not the first time Osaka has used her platform to make a statement about racial injustice and police brutality in the country.

Last month, the athlete sat out of a semifinals match in the 2020 Western & Southern Open following the police shooting of Jacob Blake on 23 August, joining multiple professional athletes in boycotting their sports.

“Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman. And as a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis,” she said in a statement at the time. “I don’t expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport, I consider that a step in the right direction.”

“Watching the continued genocide of black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach,” she added. “I’m exhausted of having a new hashtag pop up every few days and I’m extremely tired of having this same conversation over and over again.

“When will it ever be enough?”

On Instagram, Osaka’s fans have praised her for her advocacy during the US Open.

“More of this type of powerful advocacy,” one person commented, while another said: “Truly inspirational.”

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