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One year later: Remembering Naomi Osaka’s iconic 2020 US Open

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Sports have never been “just sports.” Whether consciously recognized or not, spheres of athletic competition are also and will always be socially contested terrain — microcosms of our larger societies that reveal, reflect and even revolutionize issues extending beyond the court.

When Naomi Osaka walked into her first-round match at the 2020 US Open wearing a black face mask with the name Breonna Taylor printed across it, she became the latest in a long line of athletes to express and embrace this truth.

After winning that first match, Osaka revealed she had brought six other similar masks with her to New York, each one bearing the name of another Black person killed on account of racial violence in recent years: Elijah McClain, Ahmaud Arbery, Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Philando Castile and Tamir Rice.

Osaka planned to wear a new mask for each match, meaning that if she reached the final, all seven names would be given their due spotlight. Suddenly, her quest to win a third Grand Slam took on a resonance that transcended tennis.

Osaka’s mere presence (and success) in one of America’s most historically white and economically privileged sports was its own statement, one that preceded her demonstration against racism.

The power of representation in the top levels of tennis has been illustrated over the past two decades by the increasing number of Black women in the WTA since the Williams sisters first set foot in Grand Slam arenas as teen phenoms. At last year’s US Open, 12 Black American women made the draw, making up 37.5 percent of the U.S. contingent and about 10 percent of the entire field. The fact that similar numbers have not been noticeable on the men’s side speaks to the specificity of the phrase, “If you can see it, you can be it.”

Osaka herself is a product of “the Venus and Serena effect,” or more specifically, the Richard Williams effect. When Osaka’s father, Leonard Francios, saw the success Richard Williams had in training his daughters to become champions in a sport he had never played, he decided to give it a try with his own two girls, Mari and Naomi. Osaka spent her childhood playing tennis all day with her dad and sister and doing homeschool in the evenings. Her mother, Tamaki Osaka, worked outside the home to support the family.

In 2018, her father’s vision came to fruition when Osaka won the US Open final against Serena Williams and was catapulted into tennis (and soon after, global) stardom. Since then, she’s been on a rocket ship of endorsement deals and publicity, winning three more Grand Slam trophies and becoming the highest-earning female athlete in the world. And she’s still just 23.

Osaka’s family has lived in the United States since she was 3 years old. Her father is from Haiti and her mother is from Japan, where both she and her sister were born.

Osaka officially gave up her U.S. citizenship in order to play for Japan at the Tokyo Olympics. As she told the New York Times in ­­­­2018, “I don’t necessarily feel like I’m American. I wouldn’t know what that feels like.” In the weeks leading up to the US Open last summer, she wrote in Esquire, “As long as I can remember, people have struggled to define me. I’ve never really fit into one description.”

At last year’s US Open, Osaka described herself as a “vessel” hoping to spread awareness, saying she chose the face masks to “make people start talking.” A reticent figure historically, Osaka made the loudest statement possible by funneling the attention thrust upon her talent into a national reflection on racial violence.

“It made me stronger,” she said at the time, “because I felt like I have more desire to win, because I want to show more names.”

Perhaps her feelings of being American have changed in the years since then. Perhaps not. But one year ago this week, Osaka embodied a uniquely American tradition of activism, one grounded in free speech and fermented in a vision of transformative justice. In doing so, she quietly yet publicly built upon the legacies of Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Billie Jean King, Venus and Serena Williams and many others in using her platform to call for a more just and equal world. At the same time, she challenged the notion that group identity is paramount, or as simple as checking a few boxes.

After entering Arthur Ashe Stadium for the 2020 US Open Final wearing her seventh mask with Tamir Rice printed across it, Osaka came back from a one-set, two-game deficit to overtake Victoria Azarenka for her second US Open title and third Grand Slam of her career. In the post-match interview, she was asked what message she’d been trying to send with her pre-game masks. Her immediate response is still relevant today: 

“Well, what was the message that you got?”

Team USA Holds Off Brazil to Win 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Championship

The USA Basketball team and coaching staff pose with a 2025 FIBA AmeriCup Champions sign after winning gold.
A young USA squad held off Brazil to claim the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup title on Sunday. (USA Basketball)

USA Basketball lifted the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup trophy on Sunday, taking down defending champions Brazil 92-84 to top the tournament's podium for the fifth time.

Pitting a roster of NCAA talent against Brazil pros like Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, Team USA battled back from a seven-point third-quarter deficit, then dominated the fourth quarter to send Brazil home with silver medals.

"What a performance by our team," said USA head coach Kara Lawson following the title win. "We knew it was going to be just a tough, physical game."

With 27 points in Sunday's championship game, guard Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt) set a USA AmeriCup scoring record en route to earning tournament MVP honors.

"This is my first time playing with USA Basketball, and to be able to cap it off with a win, a gold medal, and to play alongside such great players and great coaches, I couldn't ask for anything better," said Blakes.

After adding 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals in her 21 minutes off the bench on Sunday, guard Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) joined Blakes in representing the USA on the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup All-Star roster.

Booking a spot on the tournament's All-Star second team was US guard Olivia Miles (TCU), whose 50 assists throughout the competition shattered the modern era's previous single-event record of 46.

Along with their gold medals, Sunday's win also gives the US automatic entry into the 2026 FIBA World Cup in Germany, where they'll look to snag a 12th overall and fifth consecutive world championship.

WNBA Standings Frontrunners Phoenix, Atlanta Right the Ship with Monday Wins

Atlanta Dream center Brittney Griner celebrates a turnover during a 2025 WNBA game.
Brittney Griner's Atlanta Dream bounced back with a win over the Golden State Valkyries on Monday. (Andrew J. Clark/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

Two WNBA championship contenders found their way back into the win column on Monday, when the No. 2 Phoenix Mercury and No. 4 Atlanta Dream each notched emphatic victories following disappointing weekend results.

Phoenix tasted revenge by blasting No. 11 Dallas 102-72, with guard Sami Whitcomb's game-leading 36 points and 2025 All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas's triple-double (15 points, 15 assists, 10 rebounds) sending the Wings' rookie core packing.

After last Thursday's surprise upset, Dallas's injury-shortened lineup couldn't keep pace in a rematch with the deeper, more experienced Mercury.

The No. 6 Golden State Valkyries also showed their limits on Monday, dropping their sixth road game of the season in a 90-81 loss to the Dream.

Energized by a 24-point performance from 2025 All-Star starter Allisha Gray, Atlanta capitalized on the Valks' fourth-quarter collapse, outscoring the 2025 expansion side 15-2 to book the win.

"I'm telling the refs, 'This is a hard game for us,'" Golden State head coach Natalie Nakase said afterwards. "I get it — home cooking. But to me, I thought for sure that [Valkyries players] were going up just as aggressive as their players, and we just did not get the whistle."

With All-Star Weekend fast approaching, regular-season Cinderella stories are beginning to break away from the true powerhouses, as teams keep chasing Minnesota at the top of the WNBA standings.

How to watch the Phoenix Mercury this week

While Atlanta will be resting until Friday, Phoenix is back in action on Wednesday, when the Mercury will host the league-leading Lynx at 3:30 PM ET.

Live coverage of the game will air on WNBA League Pass.

OL Lyonnes Boosts Midfield with USWNT Stars Lily Yohannes, Korbin Albert

USWNT midfielders Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert pose in the new 2025 US jerseys.
USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert will suit up for OL Lyonnes in the fall. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

Eight-time UEFA Champions League winners OL Lyonnes will have even more US flair next season, with the French football titan announcing the signings of USWNT stars Lily Yohannes and Korbin Albert over the last week.

Joining the newly rebranded Lyon side from Dutch club Ajax on a reported €450,000 ($527,000) transfer fee, Yohannes's new contract runs through 2028.

Albert also signed a three-year deal on Friday, solidifying her transfer from Première Ligue rivals PSG — the club that the 21-year-old has played for since her early exit from Notre Dame in 2023.

Yohannes and Albert will join USWNT captain Lindsey Heaps in the OL Lyonnes midfield, with US billionaire and multi-team owner Michele Kang (Washington Spirit, London City Lionesses) overseeing the operation.

Backed by her global women's sports organization Kynisca, Kang reportedly beat WSL giants Chelsea FC to the punch in signing 18-year-old Yohannes on Monday.

OL Lyonnes has been stocking up after failing to make it past the 2024/25 Champions League semifinals, adding PSG striker Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Chelsea FC fullback Ashley Lawrence, Barcelona defender Ingrid Engen, and Vfl Wolfsburg attacker Jule Brand to a roster now led by former Washington Spirit head coach Jonatan Giráldez.

While international tournaments play out across the world this summer, the club carousel continues to spin as heavyweight teams vie for the sport's top talent.

NWSL Stars Score Big in WAFCON Openers

Zambia players, including NWSL stars Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji, pose during a training session before 2025 WAFCON.

The NWSL is already making a splash at this year's Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), with three of the league's top scorers stealing the spotlight following the 2025 tournament's July 5th kick-off.

Zambia forwards Barbra Banda (Orlando Pride) and Racheal Kundananji (Bay FC) both found the back of the net in their national team's group-stage debut against host country Morocco, helping the Copper Queens earn an opening point in the 2-2 Saturday draw.

Banda struck first, notching the tournament's first goal with one of her signature long-range strikes in the first minute of the match, before Kundananji answered Morocco's 12th-minute penalty equalizer with a Banda-assisted 27th minute goal of her own.

Notably, the NWSL is powering Zambia's entire front line, as Banda's Pride teammates, Grace Chanda and Prisca Chilufya, joined the scorers in leading the Copper Queens' Saturday attack.

Then on Sunday, Kundananji's Bay FC teammate Asisat Oshoala wrote her name on the 2025 WAFCON scoresheet, registering Nigeria's first tournament goal by heading the ball past Tunisia goalkeeper Salima Jobrani in the fourth minute of the match.

With Houston Dash defender Michelle Alozie helping hold down their back line, the Super Falcons opened their WAFCON account with a 3-0 win.

How to watch NWSL stars at 2025 WAFCON

WAFCON action revs back up when the second matches of group play kick off on Wednesday, as the 12 2025 tournament teams all chase defending champions South Africa.

Zambia will hunt their first tournament victory against Senegal at 12 PM ET on Wednesday, before Nigeria looks to maintain their winning ways against Botswana at 3 PM ET on Thursday.

All 2025 WAFCON matches will air live on beIN Sports.

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