05/28/26 12:48:00
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05/28 12:47 CDT Naomi Osaka's latest French Open fashion ensemble includes an
ivory train and gold jacket
Naomi Osaka's latest French Open fashion ensemble includes an ivory train and
gold jacket
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
PARIS (AP) --- Naomi Osaka keeps bringing the fashion in Paris.
For her walk-on before a second-round win at the French Open, the tennis star
wore a metallic gold bomber jacket over her sequined gold playing dress, offset
by an ivory train in a look that mixes sportswear with couture.
"The inspo was, I don't want to say Victorian, but you know the ladies that
have the dresses with the poof in the background?" Osaka said. "(It's) so
terrible of me to not know the correct term of that."
The term Osaka was looking for is likely bustles, which were padded
undergarments used to add fullness to dresses in the mid to late 19th century.
After the walk-on, Osaka took off the train and jacket and handed the garments
to a ball kid to remove them before the match against Donna Vekic on Court
Simonne-Mathieu on Thursday.
"I like to keep people on their toes and I think it's really fun," Osaka said
in her post-match interview on court, refusing to reveal if she has a new
outfit for every possible match of the tournament. "There's a community I feel
like that's been built over my on-court outfits. So I just like to just keep
you guys guessing."
Osaka won 7-6 (1), 6-4 to reach the third round at Roland Garros for the first
time since 2019.
"It means a lot," she said. "I just feel so grateful. It's another milestone."
For her opening match two days earlier, Osaka walked on in a ceremonial black
skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice before revealing her gold dress, which she
said reminded her of the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night.
"Athletes are in show business," Osaka said after beating Laura Siegemund in
her opener. "Grand Slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like
I'm an entertainer."
Osaka's opponent says walk-ons ?problematic'
Siegemund said Osaka's walk-ons were "yet another example of big names being
treated differently" in tennis.
Siegemund told Eurosport Germany she didn't mind the outfits but found it "a
bit problematic" that it took Osaka so long to get ready and lesser-known
players were under pressure to unpack their gear as fast as possible to avoid
time violations.
"I came here to play tennis, not to put on a fashion show," Siegemund added
after losing to Osaka. "If other people want to do a fashion show, they can do
that. It's fine for me."
Vekic had no issues.
"It's just something different," Vekic said. "Some people take tennis way too
seriously. Just relax. It's just an outfit. It's no big deal. She has an
opportunity to do that so why not."
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AP Fashion Writer Colleen Barry in Milan contributed to this report.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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