Naomi Osaka labored into the Australian Open second round last night, her victory overshadowed by a bold “jellyfish-inspired” fashion statement she made entering center court.
The Japanese superstar emerged onto Rod Laver Arena carrying a white parasol with matching wide-brimmed hat and long veil, wearing a sleeveless turquoise dress over pleated white trousers.
She conducted the pre-match formalities wearing part of her outfit before getting to work.
When the gasps of the crowd subsided, the four-time Grand Slam champion was made to fight hard before beating Croatia’s 65th-ranked Antonia Ruzic 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to set up a clash with Romania’s Sorana Cirstea.
"Nike let me design this one, and it’s modeled after a jellyfish,” she said of her outfit.
"I’m just so grateful that I get to be able to do the things that I love. It’s really beautiful.”
The 28-year-old won the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, but her trophy cabinet has been bare since then after she battled mental-health issues and then became a mother.
"Honestly, this is one of my favorite tournaments and just to start the year off here, it makes me very happy,” said Osaka.
Defending champion Madison Keys overcame a jittery start to defeat Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-6 (8/6), 6-1 while Janice Tjen became the first Indonesian to win a match at the tournament in 28 years when she stunned Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-2, 7-6 (7/1).
Men’s champion Jannik Sinner barely broke sweat in launching his quest to win a third Melbourne title in a row as his French opponent Hugo Gaston retired injured in the second set.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
