Naomi Osaka has turned heads with both her game and her outfit at the 2026 Australian Open. The whole tennis world was transfixed on the Japanese’s unique walkout outfit during her first-round match against Antonia Ružić.
However, recently, the former World No. 1 hit back at critics who have been against the outfit, stating it was not part of traditional tennis outfits.
Naomi Osaka Hits Back At “Classless” Comments About Her Outfit At The Australian Open
The unique outfit that Osaka wore at the Australian Open had multiple elements, starting with a wide-brimmed hat that had a full floor-length white veil. To complement the look, she carried a white umbrella/parasol, which she carried to the court. She had pleated palazzo pants on, along with a seafoam-green and turquoise zip-up jacket.
Once on court, Osaka let go of the accessories and played in a kit that featured a turquoise and green racerback dress. The outfit had two distinct themes- jellyfish and butterflies. Both themes were decided by Osaka and had a personal connection to her- she decided on the jellyfish theme while going through a book on marine life with her daughter, Shai, and the butterfly theme was a homage paid to an incident that happened back in 2021, when a butterfly came and sat on her during a match, and she went on to win the Melbourne Major.
The entire outfit was a result of the collaboration of Nike along with Robert Wun.
However, the former World No. 1 fired back at the critics who have opined that the outfit goes against traditional tennis outfits. Osaka has even claimed that a certain section of people has termed the dress as “classless”.
“There’s a demographic that’s been talking about “traditional” tennis outfits and calling me classless for what I wear. To be honest I see it for what it is. I don’t do this for them though, they will never get it and I don’t want them to. I do this for the people that are like me,” said Osaka on Threads.
Even World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka commented that she would try something “more classy” compared to Osaka’s outfit when asked about it in the press conference.
“For me, I mean, I wish Nike would let me do this kind of stuff, but not for this year. But we are working on it. But I don’t know, I think I would be more like classy entrance, you know. Maybe I don’t know, maybe long coat, or I don’t know. I mean, I was fantasizing… I was trying to work it out, but not good enough yet,” said Sabalenka.
Back on the court, Osaka had a tense moment after her win over Sorana Cîrstea. The 16th seed won the match 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 against the Romanian, but there was drama at the end of the match as Cîrstea had some words for her during the handshake.
However, the two-time champion in Melbourne was at her best on-court as she stepped up her level during the deciding set, winning it 6-2. She will now face Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis in the next round, who has beaten the likes of Kimberly Birrell and Laura Siegemund to reach the third round.
