In Pictures

In Pictures: The seven masks of Naomi Osaka

US Open champion wore masks with different names for each of her seven matches to honour Black victims of violence.

Naomi Osaka, of Japan, wears a mask in honor of Breonna Taylor as she celebrates after defeating Misaki Doi, of Japan, during the first round of the US Open tennis championships, Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 — Round one - Breonna Taylor: Taylor, 26, was shot dead by police in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky on March 13. One police officer involved was fired by the city's police department in June. Two other officers have been placed on administrative reassignment. No criminal charges have been filed against any of the three. [Frank Franklin II/AP Photo]

Seven matches, seven names on seven masks.

Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, who on Saturday defeated Victoria Azarenka to win the US Open, wore a different face mask for each of her matches in this year’s tournament.

Each carried the name of a Black American who was the victim of violence, in an attempt to highlight racial injustice in the US to a wider audience.

“The point is to make people start talking,” Osaka, 22, said at the award ceremony.

“For me, just spreading awareness,” added the champion, whose father is Haitian and mother is Japanese.

“I feel like the more people know the story, then the more interesting or interested they’ll become in it.”

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 02: Naomi Osaka of Japan wears a mask with the name Elijah McClain on it following her Womens Singles second round win against Camila Giorgi of Italy on Day Three of the — Round two - Elijah McClain: McClain, 23, died after police officers in Aurora, Colorado, used a carotid hold - which restricts blood to the brain to make a person unconscious - in August last year. His family filed a lawsuit against the city and its police last month, alleging murder and routine use of excessive force against Black people. [Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP]

Sep 4, 2020; Flushing Meadows, New York, USA; Naomi Osaka of Japan walks onto the court wearing a mask with the name of Ahmaud Arbery prior to her match against Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine (not pictured) — Round three - Ahmaud Arbery: Arbery, 25, was fatally shot after being pursued by armed white men as he jogged through a suburban neighbourhood in Georgia in February. Three white men are facing murder charges, in a case that spurred a national outcry after cellphone video of the shooting was posted online. [Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters]

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/F — Round four - Trayvon Martin: The 2012 killing of 17-year-old Martin by George Zimmerman in Florida helped spark the Black Lives Matter movement. [Frank Franklin II/AP Photo]

Naomi Osaka, of Japan, wears a protective mask due to the COVID-19 virus outbreak, featuring the name "George Floyd", while arriving on court to face Shelby Rogers, of the United States, during the qu — Quarter-finals - George Floyd: Floyd died in hospital on May 25 after Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on the 46-year-old's neck for nearly nine minutes during an arrest. His death triggered mass protests against racial injustice and police brutality in the US that spread internationally. [Frank Franklin II/AP Photo]

Naomi Osaka, of Japan, adjusts her mask after defeating Jennifer Brady, of the United States, during a semifinal match of the US Open tennis championships, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2020, in New York. (AP P — Semi-finals - Philando Castile: Castile was a 32-year-old Black man shot and killed by Minnesota police during a traffic stop in a suburb of St Paul in 2016, prompting protests. His girlfriend livestreamed the aftermath of the incident on social media, garnering national attention for the case. A jury acquitted an officer on charges of felony manslaughter and reckless discharge of a firearm. [Seth Wenig/AP Photo]

Sep 12 2020; Flushing Meadows, New York, USA; Naomi Osaka of Japan walks onto the court wearing a mask with the name of Tamir Rice prior to her match against Victoria Azarenka of Belarus (not pictured — Final - Tamir Rice: Rice was a 12-year-old Black American boy who was fatally shot by police officer Timothy Loehmann in Cleveland, Ohio in 2014 while he played in a playground with a toy gun. In April 2016, Cleveland officials agreed to pay $6m to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Rice's family. Loehmann was fired in 2017 after an internal investigation found he provided inaccurate information on his application to join the police. [Danielle Parhizkaran/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters]

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