Tennis star Naomi Osaka made quite the fashion statement during her first-round match at the US Open.
On Tuesday, Osaka stood out as she walked into Louis Armstrong Stadium clad in a jewel-encrusted red kit with bedazzled red roses in her ponytail and a matching Labubu doll — the furry monster-looking creatures that have become viral fashion accessories — in a blue tennis jacket clipped onto her bag.
The two-time US Open champion, 27, further accessorized with bejeweled red headphones and a red jacket adorned with even more red gemstones. She was able to pull out a win against Belgium’s Greet Minnen with a final score of 6-3, 6-4.
Speaking to reporters after her win, Osaka explained the details behind her shimmering outfit, saying the red-jeweled Nike outfit had been planned for years, but her stylist only suggested the roses in her hair a few weeks ago.
“I was like: ‘Do you think this is possible?’ Maybe it was two weeks ago,” she recalled. “Yeah, we kind of just toss ideas around. Obviously, the outcome is way better than I could have imagined.”
“It was really elaborate because the crystals are really hard to do on a performance outfit,” the tennis player continued. “I just thought it would be really fun to do at New York under the lights. I’m glad that my first match was a night match because this outfit was really fun to play. This is my night outfit, so hopefully, I’ll wear my day outfit next time. But yeah, it definitely was really elaborate.”
In terms of her Labubu, Osaka was super pleased with the crowd’s reaction to having her own mascot in the form of the popular figurine.
“She’s named Billie Jean Bling. Not Billie Jean King. Billie Jean Bling,” she said while holding up the doll to the camera. “I’m glad she made people laugh today.”
Following her win against Minnen, Osaka will play American tennis player Hailey Baptiste in the second round.
Osaka’s time at the US Open came one month after she was eliminated from Wimbledon in the third round after surrendering a one-set lead against former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She looked set to claim a small piece of personal history before failing to capitalize on two break points at 4-4 in set two and subsequently going down 3-6 6-4 6-4.
Osaka missed the 2021, 2022, and 2023 editions of Wimbledon due to mental health issues, injury, and pregnancy, respectively.
She was visibly frustrated at being broken early in the deciding set, repeatedly banging her racket on the soft barrier at the back of Court Two.
“It’s not like I can really even be mad at myself. I was thinking about the break points that I had. She hit some really good serves. Then she hit a backhand. I can’t really do that much about it,” she said following her loss.
