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Naomi Osaka Faced Backlash after choosing to represent Japan at the Olympics

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Updated on July 20, 2021

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Naomi Osaka, a Japanese-Haitian tennis player, has retaliated against opponents of her choice to represent Japan at the Olympics this month, claiming that her ‘black card was revoked’ when she declared she would not be representing the United States in Tokyo.

In her new Netflix docuseries, Osaka discusses her choice to play for Japan. Her mother was Japanese, while her father was Haitian. She was born in Osaka’s Ch-ku. She was grew up in the United States.

“I’ve been playing under the Japan flag since I was 14. It was never even a secret that I’m going to play for Japan for the Olympics,” said Ms Osaka, according to Insider.

“So I don’t choose America and suddenly people are like, ‘Your Black card is revoked.’ And it’s like, African American isn’t the only Black, you know? I don’t know, I feel like people really don’t know the difference between nationality and race because there’s a lot of Black people in Brazil, but they’re Brazilian.”

In 2019, Osaka revealed that she will be giving up her American citizenship. The tennis player, who was born in Japan but relocated to New York when she was three years old, formerly had dual citizenship in the United States and Japan. Those with dual citizenship in Japan, however, must select one before their 22nd birthday, according to the Nationality Act.

The 23-year-old, who is the first Asian woman to reach No. 1 in the globe and is the highest-paid female athlete in the world, withdrew from both the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. Osaka revealed her decision to step down from the games in an article for Time magazine, saying she needed to focus on her mental health.

She said: “After taking the past few weeks to recharge and spend time with my loved ones, I have had the time to reflect, but also to look forward. I could not be more excited to play in Tokyo. An Olympic Games itself is special, but to have the opportunity to play in front of the Japanese fans is a dream come true. I hope I can make them proud.”

Naomi has been a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as aggressively recognizing her Japanese ancestry.

According to the Women’s Tennis Association, Osaka is presently ranked second in the world in singles tennis (WTA). On January 28, 2019, she was rated first.