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Naomi Osaka gave her 2024 U.S. Open tennis kit an update for her second round match in Arthur Ashe Stadium during the 2024 U.S. Open on Thursday. The four-time Grand Slam champion competed against Karolina Muchová of the Czech Republic, who defeated Osaka during the evening session match.
For the match, Osaka wore a second iteration of the tennis kit she debuted during her first round match at the Grand Slam tournament on Tuesday. Her look was designed in collaboration between Nike and Yoon Ahn, the creative director of Ambush. As opposed to the vibrant green and white aesthetic she previously wore, Osaka opted for a black-and-white version of the ensemble.
Like her first version of the tennis kit, Osaka’s ensemble featured a base color, this time of black instead of green, and white accents throughout.
Upon taking the court, Osaka debuted a voluminous, detachable black skirt with white tulle ruffles, black jacket with giant white bow on the back, Beats headphones with white ruffles on the headband and black bows near the speakers and black and white Nike sneakers with delicate white bows on the back near the heel.
Along with her black-and-white tennis kit, Osaka added a few more feminine touches to her ensemble by way of her accessories. She wore a bevy of pearls in her hair, which she pulled back into a tight chignon for the match. Osaka also wore a Louis Vuitton necklace. The tennis star has been an ambassador for the French luxury fashion house since 2021.
Yoon Ahn, the designer behind the kit, described Osaka’s look as a way to honor both of their Japanese heritage. “We both are from Japan,” Ahn told WWD.
“So we wanted to celebrate and connect to a particular subculture style that Japan gave birth to.” Upon removing her jacket and voluminous skirt, Osaka revealed a black and white sleeveless tennis dress with a three-tiered ruffled skirt.
On Tuesday, she wore a similar collaborative look in green during her first round match. The four-time Grand Slam champion defeated number 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia.
Osaka’s tennis kit featured two variations — upon entering Louis Armstrong Stadium, Osaka wore a green and white look, featuring a billowing green skirt with white tulle, a white Nike jacket with the black logo embossed near her left shoulder, green wristbands, a coordinated green visor and Beats headphones with a frilly white adornment and green bows.
When Osaka turned around, the back of her Nike jacket revealed a dramatic large green bow. During warm-ups for her first round match, Osaka detached the green and white tulle skirt, revealing a skirt attached to her tennis dress in the same shade of green with three tiers of ruffles.
The Nike x Ambush sleeveless tennis dress included delicate ruffles near the sleeves. A white band was also featured at the waist for a defined look. The finishing touch of her kit featured Osaka’s custom Nike sneakers in green and white color ways, which also included small green bows on the back.
Osaka’s look was partially inspired by “Lolita” fashion, designer Yoon Ahn said on Instagram, which harkens back to “the innocence and beauty of childhood.”
Since skyrocketing to fame following her first Grand Slam championship at the U.S. Open in 2018, Osaka, who represents Japan, expanded her reach beyond the lines of tennis. The decorated athlete’s interest in fashion brought her to collaborations with Louis Vuitton, Levi Strauss & Co., Tag Heuer and a working relationship with Nike, who’s been Osaka’s apparel sponsor since 2019.
The 2024 U.S. Open marks Osaka’s return to the tournament since she gave birth to her daughter, Shai. It also marks a new chapter in the 26-year-old athlete’s life.
“I don’t think I really ever stopped training, or trying to train,” Osaka told WWD, referring to her pregnancy. “My body is so used to it, it’s weird not do it. It’s funny,” she said, adding, “because after I gave birth, the nurse was telling me that I have to call her to use the bathroom. And I was telling her that I’m pretty sure I can just walk on my own. And then I had to demonstrate that I could walk.”
With interest on Osaka’s 2024 U.S. Open journey, the athlete told WWD that, in spite of outside intrigue, she feels completely “at peace.”
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