Fashion-first Osaka gets under opponent’s skin

Naomi Osaka has been catching the eye more for her fashion sense than her tennis of late, not that she has been doing too badly with a racquet in hand. She beat Donna Vekic 7-6 (1), 6-4 on Thursday to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the first time since 2019.

The former world No 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion, who lives in the United States, but plays under the Japanese flag, wore a metallic gold bomber jacket over her sequined gold playing dress, offset by an ivory train in a look that mixes sportswear with couture.

For her opening match two days earlier, Osaka walked on in a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice before revealing her gold dress, which she said reminded her of the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night.

"Athletes are in show business," Osaka had said after beating Laura Siegemund in her opener. "Grand Slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like I'm an entertainer."

The German, however, said Osaka's walk-ons were "yet another example of big names being treated differently" in tennis.

Siegemund told Eurosport Germany she didn't mind the outfits but found it "a bit problematic" that it took Osaka so long to get ready and lesser-known players were under pressure to unpack their gear as fast as possible to avoid time violations.

"I came here to play tennis, not to put on a fashion show," Siegemund added after losing to Osaka. "If other people want to do a fashion show, they can do that. It's fine for me."

Earlier this year at the Australian Open, Osaka walked on wearing a wide-brim hat, a veil and holding a white parasol. And at last year's US Open, she had sparkly red roses in her ponytail above her red outfit and even a matching Labubu that she named Billie Jean Bling.

The 28-year-old also recently wore a show-stopping outfit at the Met Gala in New York.