Former world no. 1 and two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka is back at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this week. And so is the fashion. Not since Serena Williams’ retirement in 2022 has the US Open seen Nike’s custom tennis kits. This year, the sports brand has only dressed one player for the tournament: Osaka who has been with Nike since 2019.
For her opening match on Aug. 28 (Manila time) against 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko, Osaka will don a satiny black bomber jacket with a large bow in the back—“couture” per Nike—and underneath it, a bowed four-tier ruffled competition dress, all designed by Ambush co-founder and Nike global women‘s curator Yoon Ahn.
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On the hard court, Osaka will pair this ensemble with a custom Nike pair of shoes that also bear a bow on the back of each foot. The look is part of one-of-a-kind day and night competition kits that come in green and black and are “designed for the exact specifications of her game.” Nike also made a version for Osaka’s one-year-old daughter on the occasion that she might watch her mother play.
Photo from Nike
In an interview, Ahn said, Osaka was inspired by Japanese subculture references, particularly Lolita goth. “She sent me a few looks of this ‘Lolita’ goth thing she was really vibing at that moment. They go out and wear pink, frills, bows, lace. It’s about really owning the cutesy-ness and the girly-hood.”
On Aug. 15, Osaka expressed her excitement about the custom garments on Threads saying her US Open outfit will be “the best outfit I’ve ever worn.” She also seemed to have dropped a hint on Instagram about her US Open kit by replacing her profile photo with one of Sailor Moon, who wears a similar bowed dress.
“The inspiration for me was definitely Japanese, like Harajuku,” she said in an interview. “I remember one of the first times I went to Japan, I saw so many frills and so many bows.”
She added that this custom look is part of her efforts to take more risks: “I’ve always told everyone this: I don’t mind feeling uncomfortable just as long as it’s stylish.”
Nike united Naomi Osaka and fashion designer Yoon Ahn to create one-of-a-kind competition kits for Osaka’s return to the U.S. Open, also casting Osaka as the ultimate muse for Ahn’s forthcoming Nike Women by Yoon collection and campaign. Photo from Nike
However, she clarified that she doesn’t think there’s anything risky about it. “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.
“When I wear what I feel is a good outfit, I definitely feel more comfortable,” she explained. “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.”
Osaka is currently ranked no. 85 in the world and will enter the US Open as a wild card.
“Obviously I want to be in the Top 10betroom24,” she told the US Open press. “I want to do all these things, but in the back of my mind, [I] remember not being able to run—if that makes sense—or not being able to do a sit-up. In some moments I’m really amazed. I came here with the specific goal of doing the absolute best that I can… it’s a really incredible feeling to be back here.”