Girly, flirty, demure—whatever you want to call it, the popularity of feminine motifs (like bows, ruffles, and lace) hasn’t waned. And now Naomi Osaka is bringing the romantic aesthetic to the tennis court.
Today, Osaka competed against Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko on the second day of the US Open, warming up in one of the most eye-catching ensembles the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center has ever seen.
As she entered the court, Osaka wore a green and white ensemble by Ambush in collaboration with Nike. The fluorescent green elements of the outfit, specially designed by Yoon Ahn, somewhat resembled the optical color of a tennis ball while also recalling the hue of summer: fry green.
Before the tennis match, Osaka went all out flirty in a white tracksuit jacket with a giant green bow tied to the back. She also wore a green Velcro miniskirt with a beaded tulle slip underneath, which she removed along with her jacket when the match began. (As an added detail, even her Beats headphones were covered in bows.)
For the main event, the Japanese superstar took off some tops to show off the matching tennis set she wore underneath. First, she wore a neon green sports top with small ruffles on the sides and a white fabric band around her waist. Underneath, she wore a longer skirt that had a panel of smooth fabric at the front, while the back half was decorated with rows of folded ruffles.
To complete the look, Osaka wore matching armbands and a visor in the same green and also slipped into white Nike sneakers with accents in the same color.
Ahn spoke about the inspiration behind the look on Instagram, saying: “Excited to be in NYC for my first #USOpen tomorrow‼️ Designed an oncourt #ゴスロリ outfit for @naomiosaka with @nike, a nod to our love of Japan and Japanese subcultures where we’re both from 🎾🎀🖤.”
As we have learned from past tennis greats, there is always an opportunity to challenge the status quo of sports uniforms.
Joel is an editorial and social media assistant at HarpersBAZAAR.com, where he covers all the celebrity news. When he’s not behind the keyboard, you can probably find him singing off-key at concerts, scouring thrift stores for eye-catching clothing, or browsing bookstores for the next great gay novel.
