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WATCH: Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff And Others Rally To Fight Against Racism

Published 06/01/2020, 1:41 AM EDT

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The police killing of an unarmed African-American man George Floyd in Minneapolis has prompted protests from many top sporting personalities. Several tennis stars including Serena Williams also raised their voice against social injustice in the past week.

The tennis community continues to take a bold stand against racism as Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, Coco Gauff, and many many others joined forces and voiced outrage over the death of George Floyd.

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Last week, Floyd was arrested for reportedly using a counterfeit $20 bill at a store. Consequently, a white officer, Derek Chauvin, was taped kneeling on Floyd. The latter pleaded to the cop to ease up on him as he could not breathe. However, the officer ignored his plea and didn’t let him up for several minutes, until he stopped moving. Soon after, George was declared dead at a nearby hospital.

The incident saw thousands of protestors flock to the streets of multiple cities in the USA. In addition, the protests continue to rage on social media. American tennis player Frances Tiafoe also started a new initiative ‘Racquet down hands up’ to spread awareness against racial discrimination around the planet.

Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka and others send an inspiring message

Several tennis players, coaches, and officials from past and present including Serena, Gael Monfils, Heather Watson, Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Coco Gauff and her father joined hands with Tiafoe to send a strong message and inspire others to not turn their back on racism.

“Enough is enough. ‘Our lives begin to end the day we became silent about things that matter’ Martin Luther Jr. King. Thank you to everyone that joined us in this, it starts with each and every one of us,” wrote Tiafoe on Instagram.

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“I’m Lost For Words” – Serena Williams Pens a Message as America Goes Into Turmoil

Watch the video here –

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“Our Lives Begin To End The Day We Become Silent About Things That Matter” Martin Luther King Jr.  Thank you to everyone that joined us in this, it starts with each and every one of us. • • @serenawilliams @iamgaelmonfils @katadams68 @malwashington @kgmontjane1 @zackeveee @k1ng_2._0 @heatherwatson92 @jarmere @naomiosaka @sloanestephens @tennisdarian @eastpoint_jenkins @tsongaofficiel @asia.muhammad @coacho.g @r_bizzeee @donaldyoungjr @mcneil8970 @coreygauff @haileybaptiste @ymerjr @philsbrainparade @thechandarubin @michaelmmoh @sachiavick @kamaumurray @cocogauff @garrisonzina #tennisforequality #lovewins #itisbiggerthantennis • • Song: Glory (@johnlegend @common) Thank you for creating such an impactful piece of art. Special thank you to Brian Tsao (@the_general_tsao ) for helping with edits. • • @wta @atp @espn @usta @itf__tennis @shaunking @bleacherreport @theshaderoom @octagon

A post shared by Frances Tiafoe (@bigfoe1998) on

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Written by:

Varun Khanna

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One take at a time

Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
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