New York – Naomi Osaka may not have gone out of the U.S. Open with much of a bang. But she surely went out with a burst – of color, and a bit of swag.
The two-time U.S. Open champion lost a lopsided fourth-round match on Monday to Elena Rybakina. But she continued to make her mark as the undisputed fashion queen on tour. Osaka, already known for her walk-on fashion reveals at tournaments, has been upping her game at the year’s final major with a series of dramatic ensembles – all with a basketball theme, as her sponsor, Nike, honors the New York Knicks’ championship win.
For her last look, she arrived on court Monday in a coat of many colors: a fur-trimmed cloak designed by Brooklyn-based label KidSuper.
“I felt really swaggy when I put it on,” Osaka said after the match. “I feel feel like it embodied New York a lot.”
For her increasingly dramatic looks the past week or so, Osaka has worked with celebrity stylist Law Roach – also known as Zendaya’s stylist – displaying the work of multiple designers.
Monday’s eclectic walk-on ensemble from KidSuper, the label of designer Colm Dillane, included not only the lavish coat, but a headband that echoed the blue, red and white NBA logo – only now, displaying a racket-wielding tennis player, not a basketball player.
For her first-round match a week ago, Osaka channeled NBA great Allen Iverson in a long, white tulle skirt and a dramatic gray, hooded robe. When she removed the hood, Osaka’s hair was in cornrows under a headband, recalling Iverson’s look when was the NBA MVP while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. Her ensemble was designed by Who Decides War, the New York-based streetwear brand.
For round two, Osaka arrived on court in an ensemble by Thom Browne, with a flowing white jacket embroidered with crossed tennis rackets. Underneath, her tennis skirt’s mesh fabric resembled a basketball net.
For the third round, Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, wore the label Monse – an oversized hybrid of a gray suit jacket and hoodie sweatshirt over flowing gray fleece pants, an outfit meant to mesh business wear with sports wear.
After her loss Monday, Osaka was asked if she was disappointed that there may have been other fashion looks she’d been planning to display, had she remained longer.
“I mean, I think there’s always something, you know?” Osaka said. “I feel like that’s a way that I can have fun and sort of just excite myself, also.”
But the 28-year old – who noted that she’d been hampered during Monday’ match by pain in her leg – was philosophical about her loss.
“Maybe I’m just getting older, but I don’t feel sad,” Osaka said. “I think, also, if I reflect on my career and the things that I’ve been able to do, there’s nothing that I regret or there’s nothing that I’m sad about … If I win another Grand Slam, it’s not going to change my life.”
