Naomi Osaka Responds To Black Tennis Players Dinner Backlash

Naomi Osaka is making headlines for an intentionally Black moment she curated that’s causing copious commotion. The four-time Grand Slam champion hosted an exclusive dinner for Black tennis pros during the French Open, and as you can imagine, some folks had LOTS to say about it. Luckily, Osaka classily cleared detractors while giving them a history lesson.

By every account — from the people who were actually there — it was exactly what the sport needed. But because this is the internet and Black people cannot have anything without someone trying to explain why it is actually divisive, Naomi had to come online and set the record straight.

As Blavity reported, Osaka and two-time Grand Slam doubles winner Taylor Townsend co-hosted the event. They called it the “Black Party (Roland Garros RG Edition),” with guests including Coco Gauff, the reigning French Open women’s champion, and pioneering French player Gaël Monfils, who’s currently playing his final season before retirement. It was simply a dinner with friends and colleagues set in Paris during a Grand Slam. The most normal, human, community-centered thing imaginable. Yet, people were UPSET.

On Instagram, Townsend shared a caption commemorating the moment.

“Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice, I say the darker the flesh, then the deeper the roots” -Tupac✨

Shoutout to my Co host @naomiosaka for stepping out with me and hosting this dinner that was much bigger than us👑

Laughs, stories, and wisdom was shared.. this was not only good for the culture, it was great for the soul🖤#firstofmany”

The post showed the group looking genuinely happy, relaxed, and celebratory. The comments were overwhelmingly positive from fans who understood exactly what the moment meant. And then there were the others who asked silly questions like, “What if there was a WHITE dinner?”

After catching wind of the negativity, Osaka addressed the critics directly, and she did not mince words.

“First of all I do love everyone for who they are no matter their race and ethnicity, I’m literally half Japanese lol,” she wrote. 

She noted that “growing up as a tennis player, I didn’t see many people that looked like ME and I feel like it’s important to celebrate them.” 

She then addressed the tired “what if someone had an all-white party” argument that flooded her mentions with the patience of someone who has been through this before. 

“Secondly I feel like it’s important to note that there have been all White dinners and parties,” she explained. “I don’t know how else to tell you this, I literally seen them all the time and never had an issue with it at all.” 

And then she asked the question that needed to be asked out loud. “To the people who ask this question, I want to ask you this question too, ‘What is it about POC getting together that unsettles you so much?'” 

Peep her full statement below:

“You know I’m seeing a little bit of- ‘Why can’t you love everyone for all skin tones?’ and ‘what if someone had an all white party?! First of all I do love everyone for who they are no matter their race + ethnicity, (I’m literally half Japanese lol). I can only speak from my experiences in my own life though, growing up as a tennis player I didn’t see many people that looked like ME and I feel like it’s important to celebrate them.

“Secondly I feel like it’s important to note that there have been all white dinners/parties. I don’t know how else to tell you this, I literally seen them all the time and never had an issue with it at all. To the people who ask this question I want to ask you this question too, ‘What is it about POC getting together that unsettles you so much?’

“I want to end this by saying I grew up watching my dad get discriminated against, having the cops called on him multiple times at the tennis court. There are multiple things I will apologize for in my life but celebrating being black and appreciating who we are will never be something I would consider saying sorry for. Thanks.

“Actually I lied, I am sorry. I’m sorry for the people who cannot comprehend in their brains that this is not about exclusion, this is a celebration about how far we have come 🖤”

Naomi does not need anyone’s permission to celebrate her community, and she made that very clear. The dinner happened. It was beautiful. The people who were mad about it can keep being mad.

The tennis champ has since moved on from the silly drama, and she’s making waves for her opening match look, where she wore a custom Nike Roland Garros skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice, which she removed to reveal a sequined gold playing dress.

Get it Naomi, never let ’em see you sweat!

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