Naomi Osaka’s bold Australian Open entrance

Updated January 21, 2026 — 12:44am,first published 10:36pm

Naomi Osaka has received rave reviews for an unforgettable entrance to Rod Laver Arena in a jellyfish-inspired outfit that included a nod to her viral butterfly moment at the 2021 Australian Open.

Osaka, a dual champion at Melbourne Park and former world No.1, wowed the crowd and television audiences alike when she walked onto court for her match against Croatian Antonia Ruzic, wearing a white hat and veil with flowing white pants, which she took off to reveal a green ruffled dress.

Osaka had to dig deep to win her first-round match on Tuesday night, rallying from down a break in the final set to triumph 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 over the far-more-understated Ruzic – but her showstopping outfit overshadowed the tennis.

“Nike let me design this one, and it’s modelled after a jellyfish,” Osaka said.

“I’m just so grateful that I get to be able to do the things that I love, and it’s really beautiful. Shoutout to [fashion designer] Robert Wun for doing this for me. There’s a butterfly on the hat, and on the umbrella, too. It has to do with the Australian Open that I won in 2021.”

A butterfly landed on Osaka’s nose during her third-round match at the 2021 Open, before she gently moved the creature down to her hand and walked it to safety in an iconic moment that went viral online on her way to a second title at Melbourne Park.

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London-based Wun has designed pieces for the likes of Beyoncé, Cardi B, and Ariana Grande, so Osaka is in exclusive company.

Osaka said the design was months in the making and that she was thrilled with the “amazing coincidence” of the Open’s sea-themed player tunnels this year leading out to Rod Laver Arena.

The Japanese superstar was also not concerned that the fashion statement might backfire on her if she lost.

Naomi Osaka walks out onto Rod Laver Arena for her first-round match.Getty Images

“Honestly, I realise I’m a little strange because I don’t really think I care. I just want to do things that create joy and happiness,” she said.

“I really love fashion. That makes me excited to wake up and do the whole walk-on … it creates a little bit more joy in that whole match preparation. But, no, I don’t think in my mind, ‘I’m going to put this on, and if I lose, it’s a wrap’.”

Osaka also paid tribute to the Williams sisters – Serena and Venus – Maria Sharapova and Bethanie Mattek-Sands as fellow players who were the “GOATs of style”.

The Australian Open’s fashion editor-at-large, Fashion Critical, said Osaka’s outfit was “completely unhinged”, but she loved it.

“It’s giving Met Gala. It’s giving Fashion Critical,” she said. “I love the idea of bringing a bit of theatre to the walk-on. But you better have the pedigree to back it up – which she does.”

Melbourne Fashion Festival head Caroline Ralphsmith, sitting in the front row at Osaka’s match, also approved of Osaka’s outfit choice.

“[That was an] incredible overall impression for the full entrance moment – the crowd loved it,” she said. “The actual dress is creative, flowing [yet] still sporty, and allows her full movement on the court. Wonderful self-expression.”

Vogue published an article on Tuesday in which Osaka shared the meaning behind her “exoskeletal” look.

“When I look back at the players who came before me, I think about how those moments – those looks – have become memories that live forever,” Osaka told Vogue.

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“So much of the time, other people get to write our stories for us. This felt like a moment where I could write a little bit of my own.”

According to the Vogue article, Osaka’s inspiration came from a particular moment when she was reading to her two-year-old daughter, Shai.

Osaka’s entrance stunned onlookers.Getty Images

“There was an image of a jellyfish, and when I showed it to her, she got so excited,” she said.

But the less said about Jannik Sinner’s khaki-and-mustard Nike outfit from his match on Tuesday night, the better.

“It’s giving murky crocodile in a swamp,” Fashion Critical said. “Of all the colours for the champ to wear, I cannot in good conscience understand how they decided on that one.”

Osaka is known for leading quirky style trends.

Osaka was lauded for her “wonderful self-expression”.AP

At last year’s US Open, she embraced Labubu dolls, commissioning New York artist Kerin Rose Gold, of A-Morir Studio, to design bedazzled keychain versions inspired by tennis legends such as Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe and Andre Agassi.

She revealed a new one after each win and made her first grand slam semi-final in four years, losing in three sets to American Amanda Anisimova.