Naomi Osaka Claims Her Second U.S. Open Championship Title

Congratulations to the newest U.S. Open women's champion, Naomi Osaka. On Saturday, the 22-year-old tennis star took home her second U.S. Open title (her first victory was over Serena Williams in 2018), after defeating opponent Victoria Azarenka on the court.

The occasion also marks her third Grand Slam win, joining the ranks among legends Venus and Serena Williams, Angelique Kerber, and Kim Clijsters.

Following the match, Osaka bumped racquets with Azarenka and proceeded to lay on her back mid-court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, soaking in her success while gazing at the sky. "I always see everyone sort of collapse after match point," Osaka told reporters about the emotional moment, adding: "I've always wanted to see what they saw."

While accepting her trophy, Osaka was asked about the message she was trying to send with her face masks — each displaying the name of a Black victim tragically killed in America — at all of her seven matches. "What was the message that you got?" she asked. "The point is to make people start talking."

Osaka later added that she was wearing the masks to bring awareness about police brutality and racial injustice across the globe, highlighting the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, George Floyd, Tamir Rice, and Philando Castile.

"I think tennis, people watch it all around the world and things that we think are common names are probably not common overseas," she said. "For me I just want people to have more knowledge. I feel like the platform that I have right now is something that I used to take for granted and I just feel like I should be using it for something."

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