Naomi Osaka brought her ‘fashion show’ to Wimbledon as the Japanese star walked out for opening round clash in a stunning kimino-inspired white outfit.
Wimbledon’s strict clothing rules means the Japanese star can only wear white but that didn’t stop her from making another grand entrance on to the modest Court 3 for her match with Elsa Jacquemot.
Osaka sported a tule layered skirt under her kimono jacket with open bell-shaped sleeves, dove wing embroidery and a thick obi belt.
After shaking hands with Jacquemot, she walked over to her chair and removed the outfit to reveal a white Nike outfit that also included matching embroidery.
It comes just weeks after Osaka’s sparkling gold ‘Eiffel Tower’ dress and various walk-on outfits at the French Open sparked accusations from her opponent that she was prioritising fashion over tennis.
Osaka, who earns £7.5million a year in her deal with Nike, refused to back down and strode on to court in Paris with a range of upcyled jackets and skirts made from her old match outfits over her gold dress.
Naomi Osaka brought her ‘fashion show’ to Wimbledon on Monday afternoon
The Japanese tennis star, 28, wore a stunning kimono-inspired outfit in SW19
Wimbledon’s strict clothing rules state players must only wear white but that didn’t stop her from making a grand entrance to Court 3
The 28-year-old wore a matching sequened jacket and skirt over her dress for her fourth-round defeat to Aryna Sabalenka, the first women’s match in three years to be scheduled for the prestigious evening slot on Court Philippe-Chatrier, having entered for the previous two rounds with ivory and coffee trains attached to the back of her outfit.
Osaka was accused of not coming to Roland Garros ‘to play tennis’ by her first-round opponent Laura Siegemund after arriving for her opening match in a flowing black skirt and corset made from her old Nike outfits before unveiling the shimmering gold dress, which the Japanese star said she thought looked like the famous French monument at night.
The black corset and skirt was designed by couturier Kevin Garmanier, who works with upcycled materials. The pleated black skirt was made using the inner layers of one of her jackets while her old tennis skirts and dresses were also cut up and reused. The outfit was then covered in hundreds of hand-applied crystals.
‘I came here to play tennis, not to put on a fashion show,’ Siegemund had told TNT Sports. ‘And if others want to put on a fashion show, then they should go ahead and do it. That’s totally fine with me.’
While Siegemund appeared to take issue with her outfit, her second-round opponent in Paris, Donna Vekic, had no complaints after her defeat.
‘Some people take tennis way too seriously. Relax, it’s just an outfit. Ithink it’s good that she’s doing different things, expressing herself through fashion. Whether it’s good or bad, that’s a different thing, it’s fashion.’
Osaka caught the eye at the French Open with her outfit choices but was criticised by a rival
She was accused of not coming to Paris ‘to play tennis’ by her first round opponent
And while the beaten Siegemund had no issue with the actual outfit design or the result, she expressed some frustration at the time Osaka was awarded to take off her outer garments in comparison to how long players are allowed to do meaningful things during matches.
Osaka is renowned for catwalk entrances at Grand Slams and famously wore a jellyfish-inspired outfit at the Australian Open in January.
The 28-year-old arrived at the Rod Laver Arena with a wide-brimmed hat with a white veil and parasol before warming up in a frilled jacket and dress that looked like tentacles.
At Indian Wells, she arrived on court with tribal-inspired jewellery over her lips, nose and ears alongside a black mesh and cheetah-print Nike dress, trainers and jacket.
Osaka is hugely into her fashion and even turned heads at this year’s Met Gala with a ‘skin-shedding’ performance on the entrance steps where she wore a white coat covered in red feathers to resemble blood before removing it to reveal a blood-red and crystalled gown designed to look like exposed muscle, tendon and sinew.
Osaka is renowned for catwalk entrances at Grand Slams and famously wore a jellyfish-inspired outfit at the Australian Open in January
‘It’s just fun to watch designers work, especially when there is an already pre-existing thing that they have to design around,’ said Osaka, who admitted she brought back-up dresses to Roland Garros just in case as she was worried her golden Nike outfit might blind spectators.
‘When I first saw the dress in real life, I felt like I looked like the Eiffel Tower at night-time when it’s sparkling,’ she said. ‘And then I actually got a little worried, because when the sun hits the dress, it reflects a lot. I was a little scared that the umpire was going to kick me off the court.’
‘Sometimes people say athletes in show business or entertainers or whatever,’ said Osaka. ‘I feel like, for me, Grand Slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like I’m an entertainer.’
