Naomi Osaka says she will accept criticism of her on-court clothing if the backlash helps make things easier for the next generation of players. The 28-year-old, a four-time Grand Slam champion, set out that position in a social media post after drawing attention at the US Open for a sequence of elaborate outfits.
The Story in Pictures
At the tournament she entered her first-round match wearing a hooded white gown, beneath which she played in a black basketball-style kit. She also braided her hair and wore a headband as a tribute to former NBA star Allen Iverson, whom she described as a "trailblazer" and credited with influencing fashion on and off the court.
Osaka linked the current debate over her clothes to a broader pattern of being among the first to take controversial stands. "I don't mind being the first to do something and getting trashed for it," she wrote, adding that speaking up about mental health at the 2021 French Open had produced similar criticism. "This happened when I talked about mental health and for some reason it's happening with my clothes lol," she said, and stressed her heritage, writing "I'm literally Haitian it's in my blood to be this way, as long as the people after me have an easier path it's worth it."
Her fashion choices were on display again when she appeared in a decorated coat at the start of her last-16 US Open defeat by Elena Rybakina. The attention forms part of a pattern of distinctive Grand Slam looks: a lime green and white outfit covered in bows at the 2024 US Open, an ocean blue tie-dye jacket and wide white trousers at the 2026 Australian Open described as jellyfish-inspired, a gold outfit at the French Open in May, and an entrance at Wimbledon in a kimono.
Osaka framed the controversy as a conscious trade-off, accepting present criticism so that those who come after her face fewer barriers. Her comments were posted amid the media attention around her US Open run and the outfits that have become a prominent part of her public identity.
