{"id":669519,"date":"2026-05-28T05:41:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/669519\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T05:41:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T05:41:14","slug":"naomi-osaka-responds-to-backlash-for-black-party-at-french-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/669519\/","title":{"rendered":"Naomi Osaka Responds To Backlash For ‘Black Party’ At French Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2026Source: DeFodi Images \/ Getty<\/p>\n

Naomi Osaka<\/a> has drawn some criticism for her fashion-forward \u2018fits at this year\u2019s French Open, but it\u2019s a dinner party she put together that has generated the most controversy. Osaka and bestie Taylor Townsend co-hosted the dinner at Soho House in Paris while playing in the tennis tournament. <\/p>\n

They dubbed it \u201cThe Black Party\u201d as it was an event dedicated to the Black players on the tour. Retiring French player Gael Monfils was there, along with American doubles specialist Asia Muhammad, Coco Gauff, and former player turned Tennis Channel host Christopher Eubanks. <\/p>\n

Osaka posted a pic and video from the dinner, saying, \u201cGrowing up, there weren\u2019t a lot of tennis players I could look up to that looked like me. Being a minority in a sport like tennis is very isolating, but the positive is that you keep tabs on everyone that \u2026 being blunt, is black. There\u2019s a fellowship, a camaraderie that doesn\u2019t need words to describe. You just feel at peace knowing that there\u2019s another person who has experienced similar things to you, and you feel less alone,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Osaka added, \u201cThere\u2019s a saying, \u201cwhen you win I feel like I win too\u201d and while that\u2019s true I also feel like seeing any of us exist in this space that is so clearly not for us is a win in itself. Our presence is a present, and I\u2019m so grateful for the gift of my peers. I want to thank them for existing and thank them for inspiring, I am so proud and I appreciate everyone who came to the dinner (also the ones who couldn\u2019t make it as well \u2764\ufe0f).\u201d<\/p>\n

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Despite the reality of the tennis circuit being predominantly white and the racism that stars like Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, and the Williams Sisters endured (Indian Wells, anyone?)<\/a>, this apparently didn\u2019t sit well with people who went online to criticize the players for hosting the event exclusively for their Black peers. But several current and former tennis players liked the post, and a few shared that Ashe hosted similar get-togethers during the French Open when he was playing. <\/p>\n

Osaka limited comments on Instagram after seeing the negative posts.<\/p>\n

She also responded, saying, \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?! First of all, I do love everyone for who they are, no matter their race + ethnicity, (I\u2019m literally half Japanese lol). I 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. Secondly 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

She added, \u201cTo 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 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\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

Osaka is currently ranked No. 16 in the world and won her latest match at the French Open against Germany\u2019s Laura Siegemund in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6. Townsend, however, will not advance as she lost to Gauff in the first round. <\/p>\n

The French Open continues through Sunday, June 7. <\/p>\n

See social media\u2019s reaction to the party below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Source: DeFodi Images \/ Getty Naomi Osaka has drawn some criticism for her fashion-forward \u2018fits at this year\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":669520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[18323,99,24842,428],"class_list":["post-669519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-naomi-osaka","tag-sports","tag-taylor-townsend","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=669519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/669520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=669519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=669519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=669519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}