Naomi Osaka’s French Open outfits bring couture and tennis together in Paris

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PARIS — No one turns the tennis court into a catwalk quite like Naomi Osaka.

At the French Open Tuesday, the four-time Grand Slam champion staged an outfit reveal once again, striding out for her first-round match against Germany’s Laura Siegemund wearing a black corset and matching pleated, cascading skirt that skimmed over the clay. They were layered over a gold dress designed by Nike, striped with sequins which shimmered and sparkled in the Paris sunshine.

Osaka’s tennis shone, too, in a 6-3, 7-6(3) win that felt straightforward considering Siegemund’s ability to knock opponents off rhythm with her awkward, slice-laden game and use of tennis’ dark arts.

Osaka faced 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist Donna Vekić in the second round — and gave fans another look at the outfit, this time with a slightly oversized golden jacket in the same style as her dress, and a cream version of the cascading skirt that popped against the red of the clay.

For Osaka, blending high fashion into her day job is both a crucial form of self-expression and homage to her predecessors such as Venus and Serena Williams, who caused a stir and defined an era of tennis fashion with their boundary pushing designs.

She collaborates with couturiers on the kits directly and has her own creative team. She’s so engaged in the world of fashion these days that she even took a quick trip across the Atlantic to attend the Met Gala in New York, between the Madrid and Italian Opens.

“I feel like fashion, for me, I tell people, I don’t talk a lot, so that way I can talk through my clothes. That means I can be as loud with colors or patterns or fabric as I want,” Osaka said in a news conference at the French Open.

“That’s the fun part, you know. I feel like we lost that a little in tennis. I always tell people I grew up with Serena’s and Venus’ grand reveals. I literally can look at a picture and probably tell you what year that outfit came from.

“I know there are some kids or some people that are similar to me that hopefully feel that same way about my outfits. But, yeah, I am a little dramatic when it comes to my fashion sense.”

Osaka worked on Tuesday’s outfit with couturier Kevin Germanier, a designer who works with upcycled materials. The lines of the black skirt and corset evoke the shape of the Eiffel Tower, and when Osaka removes the top layers, her Nike dress reminds her of the landmark when it’s lit up at night — almost to a worrisome level.

The dress glittered so brightly in the afternoon sun that Osaka worried the umpire wouldn’t allow it on a match court for fear it might distract her opponent.

“I got two backup normal Nike dresses — shoutout, Nike,” Osaka said, smiling. “Thank God I didn’t have to wear them, though.”

If one golden dress and two backup options sounds extravagant, remember: Osaka has never had average tastes when it comes to fashion.

The 28-year-old has been debuting high-fashion outfits at Grand Slams for years, but she set a particularly high bar at the Australian Open in January, when she walked out for her first-round match in a dreamy, dramatic ensemble by couturier Robert Wun that was meant to evoke jellyfish.

The outfit was again in two parts. On court, Osaka wore a blue-and-green Nike dress streaked with vertical ruffles. For her entrance, she wore clothes and accessories designed by Wun: a pleated white skirt; matching flowy trousers; a veiled, white-brimmed hat and a parasol. Osaka’s look took over cultural discourse far beyond her match.

She continued her run of custom Nike kits with couture accessories and accents at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, when she came on court in a tribal-inspired look with jewelry adorning her lips, nose and ears that complemented a black mesh and cheetah-print Nike dress. With her cheetah-print sneakers and matching jacket, she looked at home in the desert.

Tuesday’s outfit was perhaps less elaborate than her Australian Open look. As she removed her black vest and overskirt, Osaka reached for a plain black Nike visor — business-like, as she aims to make it past the third round of the French Open for the first time in her career. Osaka last reached that stage in 2019.

She said she doesn’t feel pressure to live up to her own self-created hype after turning her court walk-ons into cultural moments.

“I think I’m a little used to it now…I don’t really feel like it’s too much of a big deal to do that and then play after,” Osaka said. “I could see where people would think I feel a little stressed or whatever. I think that’s kind of the thing about it.

“Sometimes people say athletes are in show business, or entertainers, or whatever. I feel like for me, like, Grand Slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like I’m an entertainer.”

After shedding her outer layers, Osaka was able to impose her game despite Siegemund’s chippy style and her own first-round nerves. Osaka lost in the first round here last year to No. 10 seed Paula Badosa in a tight, three-set match.

“I feel like today obviously my opponent was definitely really tricky with all her dropshots and things like that, and she kind of gave me no rhythm at a certain point,” Osaka said.

“But I prepared for that, like, everyone on tour knows that about her. Yeah, it wasn’t like I was stepping into a new experience or anything.”

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