Naomi Osaka Turns US Open into a Fashion Statement

Naomi Osaka has turned the US Open night session into her own runway – and then reminded everyone she is still a ruthless closer under the lights at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The two-time US Open champion walked into the arena in a hooded tunic that looked more like a moving scrapbook than a pre-match outfit. Patchwork-style panels were covered in press clippings from her past appearances in New York, a visual history lesson trailing behind her in the form of a sweeping white tulle train. It was theatrical, unapologetically personal, and entirely Osaka.

This has become the theme of her season. Each major, a different chapter in a fashion story that runs alongside her tennis.

At Wimbledon, she nodded to her Japanese roots, arriving in a kimono-inspired ensemble, her hair decorated with a traditional kanzashi ornament before switching into the regulation white Nike kit. In Paris, she leaned into the city’s nocturnal glamour, stepping out at Roland Garros in a black Kevin Germanier skirt and a layered yellow, brown and gold look sparked by the Eiffel Tower’s glow after dark. In Australia, the inspiration came from the ocean: an outfit that took its cues from a jellyfish, fluid and otherworldly.

New York, though, is basketball country. So Osaka came to Flushing Meadows channeling Allen Iverson.

Competing in an Iverson-inspired playing kit, the four-time major winner looked ready to blow past Anastasia Zakharova in straight sets. She tore into a 4-1 lead, striking cleanly, moving freely, looking every inch the 13th seed and two-time champion on a court she knows as well as any in the world.

Then the match tightened.

Zakharova, ranked 101 in the world and unseeded, refused to play the role of late-night prop. She clawed her way back into the first set, absorbing Osaka’s pace, extending rallies, and dragging the contest into a tie-break that felt entirely unlikely 20 minutes earlier.

The pressure finally told – but on Osaka’s terms. She steadied, leaned on her serve, and edged the breaker 8-6, a reminder of the competitive steel that has carried her to four majors.

"It's my tribute to Iverson," Osaka said of the NBA Hall of Famer, explaining the look that had already ricocheted around social media. "I really like him a lot. Nike said basketball, so I said, 'You want basketball, I'll give you basketball.' I like expressing myself through clothes, and I'm glad you guys appreciate it."

The second set followed a similar script, only with more tension. Osaka never quite pulled away, never fully shook off the rust she later admitted to feeling. The rallies stretched, the errors crept in, and Zakharova hung around long enough to force a second tie-break as the clock crept toward half past midnight in New York.

Again, Osaka had to dig. Again, she did.

This time she closed with more authority, taking the breaker 7-3 to seal a 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/3) victory that was anything but routine, no matter what the scoreline suggests.

"I would say it took everything [to win]," she said on court, glancing up at the scoreboard as the local time approached 12:30 am. "I have no idea what time it is. Thanks for staying."

The gratitude sounded genuine, tinged with the relief of a player still reacquainting herself with the biggest stages.

"I'm grateful to be able to play on this court again," she told the crowd. "I just told myself to not have any regrets. I wanted to come out and compete … I was a little rusty. I get nervous in the first rounds. I want to do well and show you guys new outfits."

That last line drew laughs, but it also captured where Osaka is right now: a global star who has turned her walk-ons into events, yet still measuring herself by the quality of her tennis in the tightest moments.

The outfits will keep coming. So will the questions about how far she can go in this draw.

Next up is Czech player Kateřina Siniaková in the second round. Another test, another night at Ashe, and, if Osaka has her way, another statement – both in fabric and in forehands.