Naomi Osaka withdrew from the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday in protest against racial injustice.
Shortly after her decision, the USTA, WTA and ATP jointly announced they were taking a stand against racial inequality and social injustice and had "decided to recognise this moment in time by pausing tournament play at the Western & Southern Open on Thursday 27 August".
— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 27, 2020
Play at the event will resume the following day.
Osaka, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former world No.1, had earlier beaten Anett Kontaveit to reach the semifinals of the tournament in New York.
Osaka's decision followed the 23 August shooting of African-American man Jacob Blake at the hands of police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, which has sparked several days of demonstrations in the state.
Several teams in the NBA, WNBA and MLB have also boycotted matches in their respective leagues.
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) August 27, 2020
"Before I am an athlete, I am a black woman. And as a black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand that need immediate attention, rather than watching me play tennis," Osaka wrote.
"If I can get a conversation started in a majority white sport I consider that a step in the right direction."
Osaka, the fourth seed, had earlier defeated Kontaveit 4-6 6-2 7-5 to set up a semifinal meeting with Elise Mertens.
In the men’s draw, defending champion Daniil Medvedev looked on track to continue his progression, until eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut roared back to win 1-6 6-4 6-3.
In the semifinals, the Spaniard will face the almighty challenge of world No.1 Novak Djokovic, who remains unbeaten in 2020.
21, not done ?@DjokerNole powers past Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3 6-1 to improve to 21-0 in 2020. #CInCyTENNIS pic.twitter.com/dXc9kcDOCb
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 26, 2020
Djokovic’s 6-3 6-1 shut-out of Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff improved his season win-loss record to 21-0.
Osaka, Azarenka win quarterfinals
Japan’s Osaka was the only top-10 player remaining in the women’s tournament.
She trailed 6-4 2-0 before injecting pace, power and urgency into her game, reeling off nine straight games to take command of the third set.
Kontaveit later broke back and held a 40-15 lead in the 12th game, one point from sending the match to a deciding tiebreak.
Yet winning forehands helped Osaka escape that tight spot, before a final backhand error from Kontaveit saw Osaka improve her record against the Estonian to 4-0.
“For me this entire week I have just been speaking about trying to be more positive (on court),” said Osaka, who also lost the first set in her opening match against Karolina Muchova.
“So I think just for the first set and honestly a couple of games in the second I was just really being down on myself and super negative.
“If I had to lose a match, I didn't want to lose a match on that note. I just tried to be more positive and pump myself up.”
Mertens on Wednesday ended the run of qualifier Jessica Pegula with a 6-1 6-3 quarterfinal win.
The Belgian, seeded 14th, was a recent finalist at the WTA clay-court event in Prague, losing to Simona Halep.
The other semifinal will pit the resurgent Victoria Azarenka against in-form Brit Johanna Konta.
Azarenka, who like Osaka is a two-time major winner, saved four set points in the opening set of her match against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur before posting a 7-6(9) 6-2 win.
The victory – her fourth in a row this week in New York – sends the former world No.1 into her first semifinal since Monterrey in April 2019.
“That was, like, the best. It was the best. Those moments, it's really fun. It's what you experience. It's not pretty, doesn't feel comfortable, but it's the best,” Azarenka said of the tense tiebreak.
“I feel like in the closer moments I played well. Definitely the set points I saved pretty big in the first set, and the other ones I went for some balls. When there are tough moments, you either gotta go for it or you're going to wait for a mistake.
"In January, I didn't know if I was going to play at all. So end of January, I decided: You know what? I might try, last time, and see what happens.”
Like Azarenka, No.8 seed Konta is yet to drop a set this week in New York, her latest win a relentless 6-4 6-3 win over Greece’s Maria Sakkari.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Sakkari came back from the brink to upset 23-time major champion Serena Williams.
Medvedev out, Djokovic through
Many had pencilled in a blockbuster semifinal between Medvedev and Djokovic, but Bautista Agut had other ideas.
The Russian led by a set and a break, but down 4-3 in the second set, Bautista Agut broke back, part of a run of three straight games that sent the match to a deciding set.
Medvedev also went up an early break in the third, but could not stop the Spaniard.
Interestingly, Bautista Agut has won his last three hard-court meetings with Djokovic, despite trailing the head-to-head 3-8.
“Novak is a great player. That's true that I played really good matches against Novak. I have to tell you that he didn't lose a match this year,” Bautista Agut said.
“He is the favorite, and I will try to play my game and try to enjoy another good match against him.”
Djokovic needed just 62 minutes to see off Struff, extending his winning streak to 24 matches – he closed 2019 with three straight wins at the Davis Cup Finals and has not tasted defeat since the ATP Finals.
“So far I have had a terrific tournament, reached the semifinals, haven't dropped a set. I feel comfortable,” Djokovic said.
Also reaching the semifinals was No.4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who advanced past an injured Reilly Opelka when the American retired trailing 5-6 in the first set.