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Society

Tennis star Naomi Osaka finds new voice in anti-racism protests

Rise to stardom propels Japanese-American player to action on social justice

Naomi Osaka will play in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Friday, after reversing her earlier decision to boycott.   © Kyodo

TOKYO -- "I never would have imagined writing this two years ago," two-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka wrote in a powerful Esquire essay in July, explaining her decision to speak out against "systemic racism and police brutality."

Describing her involvement in the protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd, the essay also reflects on Osaka's own identity as a woman who was born in Japan and raised in the U.S. by a Haitian father and a Japanese mother.

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