Naomi Osaka, of Japan, wears a Trayvon Martin mask before a fourth round match against Anett Kontaveit, of Estonia, at the US Open tennis championships, Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Naomi Osaka has been included on TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
Osaka, 22, won the US Open earlier this month, while wearing masks designed to draw attention to social issues in the US.
She wore face different masks before her US Open matches bearing the names of alleged victims of police violence.
US basketballer Maya Moore praised Osaka for her “incredible focus, courage and intentionality to carry herself the way she did”.
“Watching Naomi Osaka play the US Open, I was inspired by how beautifully she wove her dominant athletic performance into another narrative.
“We need the fullness of humanity. Sports can uniquely beckon this truth. If somebody like Naomi can have the courage to use what she has to call people higher, then we can too.”
Osaka will not play at the French Open because of a hamstring injury.
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