Naomi Osaka in her US Open look, made by Nike and the designer Yoon Ahn. The outfit features tulle, ribbons and frills. Photo: The New York Times
When Naomi Osaka walks onto the court at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in Queens, New York, this week, she will be covered in bows.
One large bow is pinned like a pillowy prize to the back of her bomber jacket. Underneath her jacket, on the back of her competition dress, a smaller shiny bow rests on four tiers of ruffles. Two tiny bows are stuck to the backs of her shoes.
“Be very honest,” designer Yoon Ahn said she told Osaka when they were conceptualising the look.
“There are no wrong ideas. What are you into right now?”
Osaka responded with Japanese subculture references, said Ahn, who co-founded the Tokyo label Ambush in 2008 and began collaborating with Nike in 2018.
On Tuesday (Aug 27), Ahn will release an eight-piece collection of vintage tennis-inspired clothing for Nike Women.
“She sent me a few looks of this "lolita" goth thing she was really vibing at that moment,” Ahn said.
“They go out and wear pink, frills, bows, lace. It’s about really owning the cutesy-ness and the girly-hood.”
Two versions of Osaka’s look were made for the 2024 US Open (which starts Aug 26): one in black, for evening matches, and another in green, for daytime competition. Nike also made a version for her one-year-old daughter, Shai, who “might” watch her mother play, Osaka said.
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On a few levels, this is not a typical US Open look. It is custom-made, which Nike has granted only one player for the tournament.
Moreover, most competition outfits aren’t so flamboyant, at least not since Serena Williams retired in 2022. She wore unorthodox catsuits and symbolic tutus to compete – and detachable trains and leather jackets to walk onto court.
Osaka, 26, is also not a typical player in this tournament.
After winning the US Open twice, in 2018 and 2020, she is now a wild-card entrant, ranked 85th. Since returning to the tour from maternity leave in January, she has been open about struggling to find her footing.
“My biggest issue currently isn’t losses,” she wrote on Instagram this month. “My biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body.”
Two days later, she wrote on Threads that her US Open outfit was going to be “the best outfit I’ve ever worn”.
Around this time, she changed her Instagram profile picture to Sailor Moon, who also wears bows.
On a few levels, this is not a typical US Open look. It is custom-made by Nike. Photo: The New York Times“I always feel like stepping on the court is a transformation for me,” Osaka said in an interview at Nike’s New York headquarters. Osaka signed with Nike in 2019 and collaborates on clothing and shoes for the company.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
I wondered if the bows were inspired by your love of anime.
The inspiration for me was definitely Japanese, like Harajuku. I remember one of the first times I went to Japan, I saw so many frills and so many bows.
The design is quite girlish. Can you talk a little bit about why you like that style?
I wouldn’t automatically associate myself with being girlish when I’m on the court, but I tend to gravitate toward really beautiful and cute things. 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.
The look also reminds me of ballerinas. Do you have any attachment to ballet or that aesthetic?
Actually, my movement coach is a ballerina. She’s also my mental coach. So maybe I was thinking about it subconsciously.
Before I met her, I thought ballerinas were just flexible, but then I realised they’re all incredibly strong.
Other words that came to mind that are part of the fashion lexicon right now were “coquette” and “demure”, which is a bit of a meme right now.
“Very mindful. Very cutesy.”
Talk to me about how you feel your on-court style has changed since you started playing.
I’ve definitely started to take more risks. I’ve always told everyone this: I don’t mind feeling uncomfortable just as long as it’s stylish.
So you can play when you’re not comfortable in your clothes?
I don’t mind.
Do you think this is one of the bigger risks you’ve taken?
I don’t think there’s anything risky about this. 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.
You recently posted about how you don’t feel like you’re in your body right now. Do you feel that clothes can help you feel more like yourself?
Of course there’s conditioning. But in terms of confidence level, when I wear what I feel is a good outfit, I definitely feel more comfortable.
I think that’s a magical thing that fashion can do. I think that when I put on my US Open outfit, I’m going to feel a transformation.
What are you transforming from and then to? What’s the before and after?
Instead of saying transforming, I guess I would say that I’m letting go of the expectations I put on myself.
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And do you think that an outfit can help you do that?
For me, an outfit can always help with something. It goes back to the confidence point. You put on an outfit, it’s almost like a super-suit in some ways. Then you step on the court and you imagine yourself being able to do anything.
Do you think of it like armour in that sense?
I do. In a way, it’s a little intimidating to my opponent. Especially with this outfit. It’s so big, maybe it’ll create a bigger presence.
What was behind your desire to wear that tennis-ball green colour for the daytime look?
Is it tennis-ball green? (One of the eight additional people in the room for this interview, a Nike employee, weighs in to say that the company calls the colour “barely green”.)
I really like the colour green. I feel like it gives me peace and serenity. I think colours give you power.
What does the black give you?
For me, black is strength. For me, that’s the super-suit colour. I feel a little bit like Black Panther. – The New York Times
