{"id":667688,"date":"2026-05-27T08:22:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/667688\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T08:22:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T08:22:21","slug":"naomi-osaka-responds-to-backlash-over-tennis-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/667688\/","title":{"rendered":"Naomi Osaka Responds to Backlash Over Tennis Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Naomi Osaka<\/a> isn\u2019t letting negativity get to her, as evidenced by a few posts made to social media over the weekend, addressing those upset over a recent event she threw. And believe us when we tell you, her response is just as classy yet direct as you might think.<\/p>\n

For a bit of context, you should know that over the weekend, the Grand Slam winner decided to co-host an exclusive dinner in France<\/a> for Black tennis players with fellow tennis star Taylor Townsend, as the French Open continues to get underway. Dubbed the \u201cBlack Party,\u201d the intimate dinner was attended by folks like Coco Gauff, Asia Muhammad, Christopher Eubanks, and more.<\/p>\n

And while many of both Townsend and Osaka\u2019s Black fans were quick to praise the event, with many calling it \u201cbeautiful,\u201d \u201cBlack excellence,\u201d and more on Instagram\u2014there were a handful of others online who saw the event as nothing but racist and exclusionary.<\/p>\n

\u201cHalf black\/half Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka held a dinner party exclusively for black tennis players before the French Open She defended the party by claiming there have been segregated white-only parties (Without proof, of course) This woman is insufferable,\u201d wrote<\/a> one user on X\/Twitter.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine is a white tennis player today said I\u2019m holding a whites only party. Osaka would be the first one at a mic crying racism,\u201d said <\/a>another.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow does someone of mixed race heritage end up being so bloody racist?,\u201d one other user wrote.<\/a><\/p>\n

Added<\/a> another: \u201cIf a white Tennis player held a party where black players were not allowed, there would be a global outrage and understandable too.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, after so much time and seeing the backlash to her good deed increasing, Osaka took to Threads to address it a couple of since-deleted posts over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\"\"Screenshot: Threads<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know I\u2019m seeing a little bit of- \u2018Why can\u2019t you love everyone for all skin tones?\u2019 and \u2018what if someone had an all white party?!\u2019 First of all I do love everyone for who they are no matter their race + ethnicity, (I\u2019m literally half Japanese lol),\u201d she began in one post as captured by The Tennis Letter.<\/a> \u201cI can only speak from my experiences in my own life though, growing up as a tennis player I didn\u2019t see many people that looked like ME and I feel like it\u2019s important to celebrate them. \u201c<\/p>\n

She continued:<\/a> \u201cSecondly I feel like it\u2019s important to note that there have been all white dinners\/parties. I don\u2019t 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, \u2018What is it about POC getting together that unsettles you so much?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Osaka concluded,<\/a> \u201cI 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\u2019m 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Straight From \"The<\/p>\n

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