Naomi Osaka Faces Serena Williams In Final & Black Twitter Reacts
Naomi Osaka Faces Serena Williams In Tennis Final & Black Twitter Makes Sure The Melanin Won’t Go Unnoticed
Picture by: Andrew Schwartz / SplashNews.com
The Black-Japanese-Haitian-American Gets Support From Her People
Some major tennis history will be made on Saturday as Serena Williams will face 20-year-old Naomi Osaka in the U.S. Open final.
According to ESPN, Serena beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-0 on Thursday night in the semifinals, while Naomi defeated Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4 in her semifinal match.
When Naomi was asked what motivated her playing on Thursday, she replied, “This is going to sound really bad, but I was just thinking, ‘I really want to play Serena.'” When the reporter asked her why she wants to play Serena, Naomi’s response was classic: “Because she’s Serena, like, what do you mean?”
Naomi will play her idol in the U.S. Open final on Saturday, making her the first Japanese woman to reach a Grand Slam final.
Although this is a big deal, many folks in the media seem to be ignoring another important milestone of Naomi’s U.S. Open final match. This will be the first time two Black women will play each other in the final since Serena played her sister Venus in 2002, according to Time.
Naomi was born in Japan to a Japanese mother and Haitian father. She moved to New York when she was three, according to USA Today, to be closer to her dad’s family. Thus, she has dual American and Japanese passports, but she’s repping Japan’s flag in the U.S. Open.
Naomi doesn’t seem to shy away from her Blackness though. She told USA Today, “And when I go to Japan people are confused. From my name, they don’t expect to see a Black girl.”
Thus, the Black girl magic will be on full display at Arthur Ashe stadium on Saturday at 4 p.m EST.
And it’s no secret Naomi is still stanning over Serena despite them being competitors. When asked by ESPN if she had any words for Serena going into the final, she responded, “I love you.”
Hit the next pages to peep what Black Twitter has to say about this Black-Japanese-Haitian-American winner!
