Key Points
- Osaka co-hosted a dinner for Black tennis players ahead of the 2026 French Open
- Attendees included Coco Gauff, Taylor Townsend, and Gaël Monfils
- Osaka responded to criticism citing lack of representation she experienced growing up
Naomi Osaka publicly defended the dinner she co-hosted ahead of the 2026 French Open — billed as the "Black Party (Roland Garros 'RG' Edition)" and curated for Black men and women in professional tennis — after the gathering drew online criticism this week. The event was co-hosted by Osaka and two-time Grand Slam doubles winner Taylor Townsend, with attendees including reigning French Open women's champion Coco Gauff and French player Gaël Monfils.
What Osaka said
Osaka responded on social media: "Growing up, there weren't a lot of tennis players I could look up to that looked like me." She described the dinner as a gathering of players who share "a fellowship, a camaraderie that doesn't need words to describe. You just feel at peace knowing that there's another person who has experienced similar things to you and you feel less alone." Her closer drew the line directly: "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."
Why this happened in tennis specifically
Tennis's racial demographics have been a public question for the entirety of Osaka's career — and Townsend's, and Gauff's, and Monfils's. The professional tour is among the whitest elite-sport circuits in the world, with the men's and women's top-100s historically running below 5% Black players. The "Black Party" framing is not new — Osaka and Townsend have hosted versions of it at multiple majors — but its visibility this year, in the run-up to Roland Garros, drew an online reaction that previous editions did not. Osaka's response shifted the conversation back to the dinner's actual content.
The tournament starts Sunday
Osaka opens her 2026 French Open campaign on Sunday. Gauff defends her 2025 title. Monfils, 39, is playing what is widely expected to be his final Roland Garros. The Black Party — whatever else gets said about it this week — is functionally a working dinner for a group of players who will collectively occupy a meaningful share of the late-stage draws over the next two weeks.
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