NAOMI OSAKA VS. ANASTAZIA ZAKHAROVA | ROUND 1 | US OPEN 2026

 

NAOMI OSAKA STUNS IN HER NEW OUTFIT! | US OPEN 2026

 

NAOMI OSAKA PAYS HOMAGE TO BASKETBALL LEGEND ALLEN IVERSON | US OPEN

 

NANOMI OSAKA VS. ELENA RYBAKINA | TORONTO 2026 | QUARTERFINALS | HIGHLIGHTS

 

PERFECT PERFORMANCE 👌 | ARYNA SABALENKA VS. NAOMI OSAKA | HIGHLIGHTS | WIMBLEDON 2026

 

NAOMI OSAKA ELIMINATES WORLD NO. 1 ARYNA SABALENKA AT WIMBLEDON 2026

Breaking News from The Athletic: In a stunning serve performance, Naomi Osaka upset and ousted the top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon in straight sets. https://nyti.ms/4wsv9Pf

THIRD ROUND: DARIA KASATKINA VS. NAOMI OSAKA

 

NAOMI OSAKA TURNS WIMBLEDON INTO A CATWALK WITH STUNNING JAPANESE-STYLE OUTFIT

Naomi Osaka continued her tradition at Wimbledon on day three

Naomi Osaka stunned in a white train (Image: BBC)

Naomi Osaka continued her Wimbledon tradition of turning the All England Club into a catwalk on Wednesday morning. The Japanese star strolled onto Court 2 to face Anastasia Gasanova wearing a jacket with flowers on the back, a kimono-style belt wrapped around it and a long tulle train at the back.

The four-time Grand Slam champion donned the attire as she made her way to the net to meet the umpire and her opponent for the coin toss. But Osaka then removed the train and the kimono belt before the warm-up commenced. The jacket was left on her courtside chair when the match got underway.

Naomi Osaka did the coin toss with her train and kimono belt attached (Image: Getty)

Naomi Osaka arrived on court in a stunning long train (Image: Getty)

Osaka wore a white flowing kimono for her first-round win over Elsa Jacquemot on Monday that caught the attention of all at SW 19. The No. 14 seed won 6-1, 7-5 and then explained her fashion choice.

"For me, my Japanese heritage means a lot. They say all white at Wimbledon and I thought it would be really cool to come out in a kimono," Osaka said.

"I just get inspired by a lot of different things, and for me, one of my favorite movies is ‘Kill Bill.’ So I really love Lucy Liu’s character, O-Ren Ishii, and she comes out in this really iconic white kimono. I always tell people I like to be like a video game character sometimes, I don’t want to be myself when I’m playing on the court. And I kind of try to embody her a little."

Naomi Osaka kept her jacket on for the warm up (Image: Getty)

Osaka has been working with Tokyo-based designer Hana Yagi and finished her round-one outfit with a kanzashi hair ornament and Mikimoto jewelry.

"I like to use fashion as a medium for storytelling," Osaka told British Vogue earlier this year. "Every walk-out is an opportunity to bring people into my creative world. The fact that people care about it and are excited to see what’s next is also pretty cool."

- Mikael McKenzie

NAOMI OSAKA ON HER ICONIC OUTFIT | POST-MATCH | WIMBLEDON 2026

 

NAIMI OSAKA VS. EKATERINA ALEXANDRO | WTA | BAD HOMBURG 2026 | QUARTERFNAL

 

ARYNA SABALENKA VS.. NAOMI OSAKA | ROUND 4 | ROLAND-GARROS 2026

 

ARYNA SABALENKA VS. NAOMI OSAKA | WTA | ROLAND-GARROS 2026

 

LEAVE NAOMI OSAKA ALONE - HER FASHION SHOW IS EXACTLY WHAT WOMEN'S TENNIS NEEDS

 As the 28-year-old sports star comes under fire for another head-turning outfit at the French Open, Lydia Spencer-Elliott argues why her wardrobe should be championed not criticised.

Naomi Osaka knows how to make an entrance. At the Australian Open, the four-time Grand Slam champion, 28, arrived in a mesmerising jellyfish-inspired ensemble (elegant wide-brimmed hat, long white veil), designed by Beyoncé’s regular couturier, Robert Wun.

For this week’s French Open, it was impossible to predict how she’d surpass herself; then she stepped out in a black corset and cascading pleated skirt by Kevin Germanier (beloved by Lady Gaga and Björk), which she promptly shed to reveal a glittering copper tennis dress.

“I actually got a little worried because when the sun hits the dress, it reflects a lot, so I was a little scared the umpire was going to kick me off the court,” Osaka said of the sparkling “Eiffel Tower at night” ensemble.

“I’ve got two backup, normal dresses – thankfully I didn’t have to wear them,” she added. “Sometimes people say athletes are in show business… For me, Grand Slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like I’m an entertainer,” the tennis pro explained.

Osaka’s opponent, Germany’s Laura Siegemund (whom she beat 6-3 7-6 (7-3) to reach the second round), it’s fair to say, was fuming. “I couldn’t care less,” she told TNT Sports. “I come here to play tennis, not put on a fashion show.” Nevertheless, Siegemund then went on to claim that Osaka’s big outfit reveal had broken time-keeping rules: “Once again, bigger names are treated differently,” she hit out.

So, perhaps, she did care – just a little bit.

Leave Naomi Osaka alone, her fashion show is exactly what is needed
Glittering: The four-time Grand Slam champion wore copper on the court
AP

Throughout her tennis career, Osaka has been treated differently – rarely for the better. After winning her first-ever Slam against American great Serena Williams at just 20 years old, she broke down in tears of dismay instead of joy. The umpire, Carlos Ramos, had accused Williams of receiving on-court coaching and docked her game, leading Williams to call him a “thief” and later accuse him of sexism.

As Osaka collected her trophy, boos rang around Arthur Ashe Stadium while she wept. “Not only was a game taken from me but a defining, triumphant moment was taken from another player,” Williams later wrote in an essay for Harper’s Bazaar. “My heart broke.”

The incident was all the more gut-wrenching as Williams is Osaka’s icon. This can be seen again in her fashion choices, as she follows in the footsteps of the former World No 1 to serve draw-dropping looks on the court that unapologetically allow her to express herself, when the backwards governance and antiquated confines of the sport, perhaps, won’t. Notably, Osaka faced intense racial abuse after supporting Black Lives Matter in 2020.

Williams has frequently challenged traditional tennis dress codes with pioneering ensembles; her 2018 French Open catsuit, which she said made her feel “like a superhero”, was banned for no other reason than that the French Tennis Federation felt it didn’t “respect the game and the place”. Nevertheless, months later she stepped out at the US Open in a black one-shoulder tennis dress complete with a tutu. "It's easy to play in, kind of aerodynamic,” she said.

Pushing boundaries: Serena Williams, an inspiration to Osaka, in her tutu at the 2018 US Open (Getty)

The star’s wardrobe has sparked debates around the policing of women’s bodies in sport and the functionality of athletic wear. Many noted at the time that the clothing controversy felt like another reason to slate a Black player in an overwhelmingly white, historically exclusionary, elite sport. A tutu somehow became perceived as a threat to tennis’ status quo.

Notably, few have been up in arms over Aryna Sabalenka wearing £76,000 worth of diamonds and garnets with a sheer Nike super suit at Roland Garros. “I love it,” the Belarusian defended Osaka’s latest ensemble. “She feels confident. That’s the beauty of the fashion world. There’s a space for everything. I love that she’s bringing it on [to] the court.”

Sabalenka shared that she too hoped to one day “come up with something cool” for an Open entrance like Osaka’s.

Elite sportswomen, of course, don’t want to be known or judged for their outfits alone, but – when the coverage of and prime time slots for women’s tennis at tournaments like the French Open still drastically lag behind the men’s game – it also can’t hurt to turn a few heads and garner extra attention using a bit of tulle and some sequins, right?

“I tend to win more when I’m having fun,” Osaka previously told Vogue of her relationship with sport and fashion. So far, so true – and the tennis season is just getting started.

NAOMI OSAKA | ROUND 1 | PRESS CONFERENCE | ROLAND-GARROS 2026

 

NAOMI OSAKA VS. IGA SWIATEK | ROME 2026

 

ARYNA SABALENKA VS. NAOMI OSAKA | ROUND OF 16 | MADRID 2026

 

ARYNA SABALENKA VS. NAOMI OSAKA | WTA | INDIAN WELLS 2026

 

HOME QUALIFIER GETS LIFE-CHANGING MONEY AFTER NAOMI OSAKA PULL OUT

Maddison Inglis said it was "like a dream" after Naomi Osaka's injury withdrawal sent the home qualifier into the Australian Open last 16 and with it life-changing prize money.

File image of Naomi Osaka © AFP

Maddison Inglis said it was "like a dream" after Naomi Osaka's injury withdrawal sent the home qualifier into the Australian Open last 16 and with it life-changing prize money. The 168th-ranked Australian plays the biggest match of her life on Monday when she comes up against six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek at Melbourne Park. Inglis will be a massive underdog against the world number two, but whatever happens she will come away from the best tournament of her life at least Aus$480,000 (US$330,000) better off.

"The (ranking) points, the money, the experience, the fans, the courts that I'm getting to play on... it's honestly unbelievable, it's like a dream," she told local broadcaster Channel Nine.

"That money is life-changing."

The 28-year-old added: "To start the year like this, I couldn't be happier and I'm excited."

Inglis reached the second week at Melbourne Park when two-time champion Osaka pulled out of their third-round match on Saturday night just hours beforehand with an abdominal injury.

"I'm still in shock. Hopefully she's okay and recovers quickly," said Inglis, who had to come through three qualifying matches just to reach the main draw.

She then beat fellow Australian Kimberly Birrell in the first round before winning against German veteran Laura Siegemund, both in three sets.

-Agence-France Presse

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