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Louise Thomas
Editor
Naomi Osaka will wear a coquette-inspired look to the US Open.
When the 26-year-old US Open champion walks into the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this week, she will pay homage to the Japanese Lolita subculture with a frilly look complete with lots of bows and a gothic black-and-white bent to it. Designed by Yoon Ahn, who co-founded the Tokyo label Ambush in 2008 and began collaborating with Nike in 2018, the look was inspired by the tennis player’s first visit to Japan.
“The inspiration for me was definitely Japanese, like Harajuku,” she explained to the New York Times on her upcoming look. “I remember one of the first times I went to Japan, I saw so many frills and so many bows.”
“I always feel like stepping on the court is a transformation for me,” she added of the US Open. “I think there’s something quite cool in making that an emphasis, especially here in New York. In New York, the tennis court is more like a stage.”
When she and Ahn conceptualized the look, the designer told her that nothing was beyond the realm of possibility.
“She sent me a few looks of this ‘Lolita’ goth thing she was really vibing at that moment,” Ahn recalled. “They go out and wear pink, frills, bows, lace. It’s about really owning the cutesiness and the girly-hood.”
Eventually, two versions of Osaka’s US Open look came to fruition: one in black, for evening matches and another in green, for daytime competition. Osaka’s 1-year-old daughter Shai also got her own version of the outfits from Nike, for when she may watch her mother take the court.
Osaka’s fun look follows in the footsteps of retired tennis champion Serena Williams, who was no stranger to avant-garde looks on the court. From catsuits to tutus, Williams turned heads with her flamboyance but normalized US Open players having fun with their on-the-court looks. Given the precedent set, Osaka believes her look is far from risky.
“I don’t think there’s anything risky about this,” she said. “I think it’s a beautiful garment. I’ve lived in the era when Serena taking her jacket off was the reveal. So to maybe give someone else that experience, for me, is exciting.”
She added that her collaborating with Ahn to create a showstopping moment of her own has been nothing short of empowering, leading her to feel more comfortable and confident in her skin on and off the court.
“I think that’s a magical thing that fashion can do,” she said. “I think that when I put on my US Open outfit, I’m going to feel a transformation.”
The US Open champ’s look comes on the heels of her entering as a surprising dark horse in the competition after being ranked 85th, despite her past wins in 2018 and 2020. This year, she has noted that she has struggled to find her footing after returning from maternity leave in January. Earlier this month, she wrote that it wasn’t her ranking that was bothering her the most but her body image.
“My biggest issue currently isn’t losses,” she wrote on Instagram. “My biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body.”
Days later, she announced on Threads that her upcoming US Open outfit would be “the best outfit I’ve ever worn,” changing her Instagram profile picture to Sailor Moon, referencing the character’s penchant for bows.
