Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from a major event in New York in a protest over police violence

Basketballers and tennis stars are voicing their concern amid civil unrest in Wisconsin following deep unease at another police shooting

Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from an event in protest at police violence

Dual-grand slam champion Naomi Osaka has joined the athletes protesting against violence against black Americans by withdrawing from the semi-finals of a tournament in New York.

Osaka, the 2019 Australian Open champion, was scheduled to play Belgian Elise Mertens for a spot in the final of the Western & Southern Open, which has been relocated from Cincinnati due to COVID-19 concerns.

But she has joined basketballers including the Milwaukee Bucks, who opted out of playing an NBA playoff match on Thursday in protest.

The protests follow an incident in Wisconsin this week where police shot police shot Jacob Blake, 29, several times in the back, reportedly leaving him paralysed.

Earlier a teenager was charged with murder over the deaths of two people, who were protesting the latest police shooting in the town of Kenosha.

Osaka posted a statement stating she could not in good conscience compete given the unrest that was occurring.

“Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman,” she wrote on social media. “And as a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis.

“I don’t expect anything drastic to happen with me not playing, but if I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport, I consider that a step in the right direction.

“Watching the continued genocide of black people at the hand of the police is honestly making me sick to my stomach.

“I’m exhausted of having a new hashtag pop up every few days and I’m extremely tired of having this same conversation over and over again. When will it ever be enough?”

Osaka, who has Japanese and Haitian heritage and grew up in America, has spoken in recent weeks of finding confidence to express her views publicly more frequently.

pic.twitter.com/miKzgSdGxY

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) August 27, 2020

The US Tennis Association is considering action in regards to the semi-finals, with the US Open just days away from beginning.

At a new event in Kentucky earlier in August, the WTA Tour agreed to signage around the courts stating Black Lives Matter.

Emerging star CoCo Gauff also spoke passionately at a rally in June following the death of George Floyd earlier this year, which kicked off civil unrest in American cities.