Tennis star Naomi Osaka says she won't play in Western & Southern Open semifinal; tournament taking Thursday off

Former world No. 1 tennis player Naomi Osaka announced that she would not compete in Thursday's semifinal match at the Western & Southern Open, joining the wave of athletes protesting racial injustice following the police shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.

Osaka, a two-time Grand Slam champion, cited her position as one of the few Black players in a majority white sport as an opportunity to bring awareness to the movement. Osaka was active on Twitter discussing racial justice issues earlier this year following the murder of George Floyd.

"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," Osaka wrote on Wednesday night. "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."

Later Wednesday, in a joint statement issued by the ATP, WTA and USTA, it was announced that the tournament would be taking Thursday off entirely.

"As a sport, tennis is collectively taking a stance against racial inequality and social injustice that once again has been thrust to the forefront in the United States," the statement read.

"The USTA, ATP Tour, and WTA have decided to recognize this moment in time by pausing tournament play."

The statement said matches will resume Friday. It was not known as of late Wednesday night if Osaka still planned to sit out of the rescheduled semifinals.

Though Osaka's mother is Japanese and she represents Japan as a tennis player, her father is from Haiti and she grew up mostly in South Florida. She was scheduled to play Elise Mertens in the semifinals.

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Osaka did not indicate whether she planned to compete next week in the U.S. Open, the tournament that launched her to stardom two years ago at age 20.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Naomi Osaka says she won't play; tournament taking day off