Japan’s Naomi Osaka took to the court to face France’s Elsa Jacquemot in a women’s singles match at Wimbledon in London on Monday.Maya Smikowska/Associated Press
Wimbledon’s strict rules regarding all-white attire did not prevent Naomi Osaka from making a new fashion statement as she walked onto the All England Club lawn on Monday.
Osaka, who has often made headlines with her creative outfits at recent Grand Slam tournaments, took to court number three for her first-round match against Elsa Jacquemo wearing a flowing kimono with billowing sleeves and intricate embroidery.
After her 6-1, 7-5 win, Osaka said she drew inspiration for her outfit from Quentin Tarantino movies.
“Japanese tradition means a lot to me. At Wimbledon, they say I’m all white, but I thought it was really cool to show up in a kimono,” Osaka said in an on-court interview.
“I get inspiration from many different things, but one of my favorite movies is One is ‘Kill Bill.’ So I love the character Oren Ishii, played by Lucy Liu, and she comes out wearing this iconic white kimono. I always tell people I like that sometimes I want to look like a video game character, but when I’m playing on the court, I don’t want to be myself. And I try to embody her a little bit.”
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The Japanese athlete’s latest performance drew an enthusiastic response from the crowd, many of whom held their phones aloft to record her entrance. One female fan yelled, “Come on, Queen!” When Osaka left.
“Naomi Osaka at Wimbledon is something we’ve been waiting for all day,” said Alicia Mollick, a former top-10 ranked player and commentator for the BBC.
Osaka, still wearing her robe, jumped on tiptoe near the net while listening to the referee’s instructions. She then removed it, placed it on a chair, and began warming up before the match.
The four-time Grand Slam champion’s fashion creations and walk-ons are becoming a much-anticipated ritual at both Grand Slam tournaments and other events.
At this year’s Australian Open, she entered the court wearing a wide-brimmed hat, a veil and a white parasol. At Roland Garros, she opened the tournament wearing a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice, which she removed to reveal a sequined gold play dress.
And at the Met Gala in New York, Osaka shocked in an edgy white sculpture-fitted Robert Wang dress with exaggerated shoulders, red feathers and a matching headpiece. To complete her look, she wore two-tone red gloves.
So the big question ahead of Wimbledon was how she would deal with the all-white rule at the All England Club.
“Literally everyone keeps asking me that, but I’ve never considered the color white to be a limitation,” Osaka said at Sunday’s pre-tournament press conference. “I feel like there are a lot of different patterns, fabrics and textures that you can use.”
And I used it, she said.
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