Naomi Osaka has fun with fashion at the French Open. She'll have to win again to keep playing dress-up

Naomi Osaka removed a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice before her opening match at Roland-Garros, revealing a sequined gold playing dress. She described the look as couture and compared it to the sparkly Eiffel Tower at night. She has previously used distinctive accessories and themed outfits at other Grand Slam events, including red roses and a Labubu on her tennis bag at the U.S. Open, and a tie-dye palette with a veil, wide-brim hat, and parasol inspired by a jellyfish at the Australian Open. Her fashion choices are framed as fun, but their lasting value depends on match results, since wins create memorable entrances while losses reduce attention.

"Osaka removing a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice ahead of her opening match at the Roland-Garros Complex this week, revealing a sequined gold playing dress. Osaka was playing all right. With sensibilities. With tradition. With her opponents, who she summarily dispatched with victories in the first and second rounds."

"And it was clear the four-time Grand Slam champion was playing with all of us when she said of her dress, "It's very couture. You know the Eiffel Tower at night when it's sparkly? I kind of think I look like that a little bit." Countless LinkedIn pages spout something about residing at the intersection of sport and fashion. Osaka locates that intersection at tennis tournaments worldwide, looks both ways and boldly steps into the street."

"Last year at the U.S. Open she adorned her ponytail with red roses and attached a Labubu to her tennis bag that she named Billie Jean Bling. At the Australian Open in January, she entered the court in a tie-dye turquoise and green palette with flowing tendrils. Her face was concealed by a veil, a wide-brim hat and a white parasol that she said was inspired by an image of a jellyfish that excited her 2-year-old daughter."

"It's all great fun. Yet continued fashion statements depend on her performance on the court. Osaka wins, she earns another grand entrance. She loses, nobody cares what she wears on the ride home. At the U.S. Open, Osaka shined, reaching the women's singles semifinals."

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