“Dress poorly and they will remember the dress; dress impeccably and they will remember the woman.” -Coco Chanel
About Paris. About the French Open.
That's all the context needed to appreciate Naomi Osaka removing a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice before her opening match at the Roland-Garros Complex this week, revealing a sequined gold playing dress.
Osaka was playing well. With sensitivities. With tradition. With his opponents, whom he summarily dispatched with victories in the first and second round.
Naomi Osaka arrives at the Suzanne-Lenglen court to play her singles match against Laura Siegemund.
(THOMAS SAMSON/AFP via Getty Images)
And it was clear that the four-time Grand Slam champion was playing with us all when she said of her dress: “It's very couture. Do you know the Eiffel Tower at night when it shines? I think I look a little like that.”
Countless LinkedIn pages talk about living at the intersection of sports and fashion. Osaka locates that intersection in tennis tournaments around the world, looks both ways and boldly takes to the streets.
Last year at the US Open, she adorned her ponytail with red roses and attached a Labubu to her tennis bag that she called Billie Jean Bling.
At the Australian Open in January, she took the court wearing a turquoise and green palette tinged with loose tendrils. Her face was hidden by a veil, a wide-brimmed hat and a white parasol that she said was inspired by an image of a jellyfish that excited her 2-year-old daughter.
Naomi Osaka takes to the court in a jellyfish-inspired outfit ahead of her first round match at the 2026 Australian Open in Melbourne.
(Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
It's all very fun. However, continued fashion statements depend on his performance on the court. Osaka wins and gets another big entrance. She loses, no one cares what she wears on the way home.
At the US Open, Osaka shined and reached the women's singles semi-finals. Seeded as a 23rd-ranked underdog, she defeated Coco Gauff and Karolina Muchova before falling in a close three-set match to Amanda Anisimova.
Seeded number 16 in Australia, she won two matches before retiring due to an abdominal injury suffered during her three-set victory against Sorana Cîrstea.
Fast forward to the French Open. Osaka advanced to the third round for the first time in seven years on Thursday with a 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 victory against Croatian Donna Vekic and will face teenager Iva Jovic on Saturday.
What he will wear when he enters is anyone's guess. A chic and natural aesthetic runs through Paris. Advancing to the last 16 of the French Open for the first time would require the opposite: Osaka taking another step in her return to form after giving birth to her daughter.
And creating another opportunity to have fun with fashion.
