Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Naomi Osaka of Japan will compete for the Australian Open title and the women’s world No. 1 ranking

  

 

 

Thu., Jan. 24, 2019

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA—Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic and Naomi Osaka of Japan will compete for the Australian Open title and the women’s world No. 1 ranking when they meet Saturday in the final at Melbourne Park.
Kvitova advanced to her first Grand Slam final since 2014 with a businesslike 7-6 (7-2), 6-0 victory against Danielle Collins of the United States in the first semifinal on Thursday. Osaka, the reigning U.S. Open champion, then engineered a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

Czech Republic’s Petra Kvitova hits a return against Danielle Collins of the U.S. during their women’s singles semifinal match on day 11 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Jan. 24.  (WILLIAM WEST / AFP/GETTY IMAGES)

Osaka, 21, could become the first Japanese player, male or female, to hold the world No. 1 singles ranking, an opportunity she secured with an ace on match point. The serve was initially ruled out, but Osaka challenged the call and watched the video board, squealing when the review showed that the ball was in.
It will be the third Grand Slam final for Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, but her first since she fought off a knife-wielding burglar in her Czech Republic apartment in 2016. In the attack, she sustained nerve and tendon damage in all five fingers of her dominant left hand, requiring hours of surgery to repair and sidelining her from competition for five months.
Since returning for her self-described “second career” at the 2017 French Open, the 28-year-old Kvitova has won seven tournaments, including five last year. She started 2019 on a high note, prevailing in the tune-up event in Sydney.

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But for all her success, she struggled in the majors. In her 16 major appearances after her 2014 Wimbledon victory, Kvitova never reached the semifinals and advanced as far as the quarter-finals twice, at the 2015 and 2017 U.S. Opens.


By Karen CrouseThe New York Times

Japanese company acknowledges ‘whitewashing’ Naomi Osaka in ads

By Des BielerThe Washington Post

Thu., Jan. 24, 2019

A Japanese noodle company acknowledged “whitewashing” Naomi Osaka in online ads that it said it has pulled. The tennis star, who plays for Japan and is also of Haitian descent, was depicted as having lighter skin and a more narrow nose in the anime-style ads, which caused an outcry.
“We never had the intention to do what is known as ‘whitewashing,’ but with this becoming an issue, we will pay more attention to respect for diversity in our PR activities,” a Nissin spokesman told the Japan Times.

Japan's Naomi Osaka answers questions at a press conference following her win over Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in their semifinal at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Thursday, Jan. 24, 2019.  (Mark Schiefelbein / AP)

The “Hungry to Win” ad campaign was designed by manga artist Takeshi Konomi, based on his popular “Prince of Tennis” series, and it also featured Kei Nishikori, the ATP’s ninth-ranked player. The company said the depiction of Osaka, 21, was in keeping with Konomi’s well-known style, but a spokesman told The Guardian, “We accept that we are not sensitive enough.”
Osaka signed with Nissin in 2016, then enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2018 which culminated in a defeat of Serena Williams in September for the U.S. Open title, marking the first Grand Slam singles title for a player representing Japan. Seeking to win consecutive Grand Slam titles, Osaka was set to play Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals of the Australian Open, with her exploits making major news in Japan.
Osaka was born in the city of the same name in Japan to a mother from that country and a father from Haiti, then moved to the New York area when she was three before honing her tennis skills in Florida. She holds dual citizenship with the U.S. and Japan, but her father reportedly chose the latter country’s tennis federation, although Osaka has said she’s uncomfortable with trying to speak Japanese in public.

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Baye McNeil, an American-born columnist for the Japan Times who focuses on the intersection of race and culture in his adopted country, wrote recently that he had been “anticipating Osaka’s appearance” in Nissin’s promotions “since it isn’t often that a high-profile woman of color is featured in a major Japanese ad campaign.” He said that he was “truly disappointed to see that there was no woman of color to speak of in the commercial,” adding “Everything that distinguishes Osaka from your typical Japanese anime character was gone, and what was left? Your typical Japanese anime character.”
“She looks totally like a white woman in the ad,” McNeil said of Osaka to the Associated Press. Claiming that Japanese companies would do well to address issues of inclusion when trying to reach a global market, he said, “They are not thinking on that level. . . . It may be painful, but Japan is going through growing pains right now.”
“We as a company put human rights first, and our stance of valuing diversity is unchanged,” a Nissin spokesman told the AP. “Whitewashing has never been our intention.”

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“For the mental side, it wasn’t really easy to kind of deal with that every time, coming to the Grand Slam and losing,” Kvitova said. “Maybe that’s why it’s probably more sweet.”
Kvitova produced 30 winners to Collins’ nine in their match, which turned at 4-4 in the first set. At that point, play was temporarily halted so the roof of the Rod Laver Arena could be closed, insulating the players, officials and crowd from the 100-plus-degree temperatures outside.

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“I think it certainly changed a little bit of the rhythm in the match,” said Collins, a native Floridian who is comfortable playing in high heat and humidity. But that’s not why she lost to Kvitova, she added.
“She played really great tennis,” Collins said, “and I think that should probably be the focus.”
Kvitova is the first woman from the Czech Republic to reach the final at Melbourne Park since Jana Novotna in 1991. This is her first Grand Slam hard court final. She is 26-7 over all in finals.
“I really love playing finals,” Kvitova said. “I love playing on the big stages.”
In the second semifinal, Osaka thwarted Pliskova’s attempt at securing the first women’s Grand Slam final between two women holding Czech Republic passports (Czech-born Martina Navratilova was a U.S. citizen when she lost to Hana Mandlikova here in 1987).
At the same age as the 21-year-old Osaka, Kvitova claimed her maiden major crown, at Wimbledon in 2011. She added another Wimbledon title three years later. Then came the attack in her apartment, which she has since sold. It has been a long road back, Kvitova said, “and to be honest, I think not very many people believe that I can do that again, to stand on the court and play tennis and kind of play on this level.”
Kvitova never lost faith, though, and now her belief in herself has been rewarded with her first major hard court final appearance.