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[이데일리 스타in 임정우 기자] Naomi Osaka (Japan), the women’s singles winner of this year’s US Open tennis competition, was selected as the Women’s Sports Player of the Year by the Associated Press.
The Associated Press reported on the 28th (Korean time), “As a result of a vote of 35 panelists, Osaka won the 1st place, 18 votes, 71 points and 60 points for the U.S. Women’s Professional Basketball (WNBA) Best Player (MVP) Brianna. I overtook Stewart and became the woman player of the year.”
In the 2018 US Open finals, Osaka beat Serena Williams (USA) and tasted the thrill of winning the first major in her life, conquering the 2019 Australian Open and the 2020 US Open. Osaka, the first Asian national player to be ranked first in the tennis singles world rankings for both men and women, was ranked first in the rankings of sports player income for the past year published by Forbes, an American economic magazine in May this year.
The Associated Press also paid attention to his influence outside the courts, in addition to the appearance of Osaka’s winning major tournaments and first place in income. The Associated Press said, “Osaka talked about racism and the cruelty of the police,” and praised Osaka for wearing masks bearing the names of victims of racial discrimination during its seven games at the US Open this year.
Osaka also expressed its intention to abstain from racial discrimination before the semi-finals at the Women’s Pro Tennis (WTA) Western and Southern Open in New York in August. It was to protest the case that a black man Jacob Blake was attacked by white policemen while unarmed in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA during the tournament.
In a written interview with the Associated Press, Osaka said, “Many people lost their jobs due to the pandemic of Corona 19, and it was a year that was mentally difficult due to various racist news.” “Winning the US Open is a proud result, but people are I am more proud of having to talk about it.”
The Associated Press selected LeBron James (USA), who led the Los Angeles Lakers championship in the NBA, as the male player of the year the previous day. James was also known as the background of the award for making an active expression on racial discrimination in addition to his contributions to putting the team on top.
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