Naomi Osaka, who resumed her Western and Southern Open campaign on Friday after reversing a decision to withdraw, advanced to the final with a 6-2, 7-6(5) straight-set victory over Belgium's Elise Mertens.
Osaka, a child of a Haitian father and Japanese mother, said on Twitter after her quarterfinal win she would pull out of the tournament in New York to protest against racial injustice, joining athletes in other sports.
The two-time Grand Slam champion tweeted that she was exhausted and "sick to my stomach" over the many black people killed by police, and she was withdrawing to "get a conversation started in a majority white sport."
On Friday, Osaka returned to the court wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. Despite her first serve being inconsistent, the fourth-seeded Osaka fought off 18 of 21 break points while gritting it out.
"It's been kind of hectic, and I honestly haven't been able to get that much sleep yesterday. So I'm glad I was able to win today," Osaka said.
"Yeah, I would just say there's a lot of pressure I put on myself, and of course I feel like now there is another reason for me to want to win, but I feel like I have to reel back all those emotions and just focus on what I train for."
On Wednesday, Osaka had pulled out of the semifinal to protest the police shooting of black man Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin. On Thursday, after the tournament postponed all of the semifinals for the same reason, Osaka announced that she would go ahead and play.
Osaka, the only top 10 player left in the women's bracket, will face Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in Saturday's final. Azarenka, a two-time Australian Open winner, beat Johanna Konta of Britain, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, for a place in the championship match.
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