Osaka, who has a Japanese mother and Haitian father, said in a social media post: “Before I am an athlete, I am a Black woman”.

Her decision follows protests over the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in the city of Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Sunday.

Earlier on Wednesday, Osaka had battled back from a set down to defeat Anett Kontaveit 4-6 6-2 7-5 and reach the Western & Southern Open semi-finals for the first time.

She trailed 2-0 in the second set, but stepped up her serving and cut down on unforced errors to reel off six straight games.

The final set looked headed for a tiebreaker when Kontaveit rushed out to a 40-15 lead while serving at 5-6.

But fourth seed Osaka fought back and completed the comeback when the Estonian sent a backhand wide on match point.

“For the first set and honestly a couple of games in the second I was just really being down on myself and super negative,” said Osaka.

“For me, I just didn’t want to, you know, if I had to lose a match, I didn’t want to lose a match on that note. Yeah, I just tried to be more positive and pump myself up.”

Next up for the twice Grand Slam champion was a meeting with Belgian Elise Mertens, until her withdrawal.

The Belgian had needed just over an hour to defeat qualifier Jessica Pegula 6-1 6-3 and reach her first Premier 5 semi-final.

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“Any person who cheated or looted the nation will be brought to justice, irrespective of status of the person in society,” he said.

The president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement in Abuja on Monday, said Buhari stated this at an audience with South-West Imams and Islamic scholars on Sunday at the State House, Abuja.

The President urged religious leaders in the country to spread the message among their followers of the government’s total determination to promote social justice across the entire society.

According to him, the nation’s diverse religions and cultures teach justice by all and for all.

“Unless there is justice for everyone, the country cannot progress,’’ he added.

The leader of the delegation, Sheik Abdulrasheed Hadiyatullah described politics as the proper administration of public affairs and rebuilding what was destroyed.

He commended President Buhari for doing just that, and assured him of support in reforming the country.

“We have never seen a purposeful government as this one. We have great respect for you.

“We will continue to support your war against corruption and the programmes aimed at making life better for the generality of Nigerians,” Sheik Hadiyatullah declared.

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