Naomi Osaka and Taylor Townsend are piling up wins on the court at the French Open, but their success comes after drawing attention off the court for organizing a dinner for Black players before the tournament started.
Social Media Reaction
“It caused a bit of a stir, which I thought was pretty funny because for so long we have been the ones that (are) the minority in a sport where we kind of stick out,” Townsend said about chatter on social media. “And now coming together all of a sudden seems like a problem.” While Townsend said the reaction from her Instagram post about the evening was “mostly positive,” she noted there was also online criticism.
Several comments on Osaka’s and Townsend’s posts suggested the dinner as “segregation,” while another asked, “When are the white, Latino, and Asian parties?” It all prompted Townsend to quote a lyric from the rapper Finesse2tymes: “He said, ‘It’s cool when they do it; it’s a problem when I do it.’” Keeping in the rap theme, Townsend quoted Tupac Shakur in her post: “Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice; I say the darker the flesh, then the deeper the roots.”
Attendees and Reflections
Besides Osaka and Townsend, the other attendees were 2025 French Open champion Coco Gauff, retiring Frenchman Gael Monfils, doubles specialist Asia Muhammad, and retired player turned TV commentator Chris Eubanks. Osaka — whose father is from Haiti and mother from Japan — said in her Instagram post: “Growing up, there weren’t 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 … being blunt, is black. There’s a fellowship, a camaraderie.” She added in a news conference: “I felt like everyone in that room was a part of my family.”
For Townsend, “it wasn’t just about the culture, it was healing for us to all be able to speak about our journeys.” While Gauff’s title defense ended with a loss to Anastasia Potapova on Saturday, Osaka reached the fourth round in Paris for the first time, showing off her fashion with elaborate walk-on outfits. Townsend and Czech partner Katerina Siniakova — the top-seeded doubles team — advanced to the quarterfinals.
Historical Context
Gauff beat Townsend in the opening round of singles, after which a ceremony honored the 70th anniversary of Althea Gibson’s 1956 French Open victory — the first Grand Slam title for a Black player. Gibson also broke tennis’ color barrier in 1950 at the U.S. Nationals. Gauff told the crowd: “Taylor and I playing on Philippe-Chatrier is a direct product of Althea Gibson. It just shows the importance of breaking barriers in all aspects of the world, but especially in sport. I’m very grateful for people like her and Serena and Venus (Williams), Zina Garrison for paving the way for us.”
The dinner recalls how, going back to the Harlem Renaissance, Black athletes, entertainers, musicians, and writers held salons and dinners to celebrate successes in a familial space — not as a slight to non-Blacks. Katrina Adams, a former pro and first Black president of the U.S. Tennis Association, said she was pleased to see “an old tradition” re-emerging. “In our era in the 80’s/90’s, we hosted ‘Soul Food’ Sunday on the middle Sunday of Wimbledon, when there was no play,” Adams commented on Townsend’s post. “All the black players, got together, cooked, ate and enjoyed each other.” Adams said players like Garrison and Lori McNeil hosted for years, passing the tradition to Chanda Rubin, the Williams sisters, MaliVai Washington, and Roger Smith.
Friendship Beyond Tennis
Townsend and Osaka hardly knew each other before Osaka surprised Townsend by inviting her on a vacation last year to the Turks and Caicos. Townsend, an extrovert, and Osaka, a quiet introvert, bonded deeply. “I didn’t know why she invited me,” Townsend said. “(But) it ended up being the best time and Naomi and I floated in the ocean on a surfboard for three hours and talked to each other. … We’ve been friends ever since.” Both players are mothers. “We share a lot of the same values and principles and morals of how we go about life and how we want to treat people and what type of mothers that we want to be for our children,” Townsend said. “It goes way beyond tennis.”
