In the third round of the US Open, Osaka won her match against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-7, 6-2. The mask she wore in this match featured the name of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old Black man who was shot and killed by a former police officer and investigator, Gregory McMichael, and his son Travis McMichael in Glynn County, GA, on Feb. 23 while he was out jogging. Both men, who are white, face murder and aggravated assault charges, and William Bryan Jr., also white and who recorded the shooting, was arrested on felony murder charges. All three, as of now, have pleaded not guilty.
"I would like everyone to know that it was completely avoidable," Osaka said in an interview after her match about Arbery's death. "This did not have to happen. None of these deaths had to happen, and, for me, I feel like I just want everyone to know the names more."
