Naomi Osaka has long been renowned for dazzling crowds with her on-court outfits – but making that compatible with Wimbledon’s strict dress code required special inspiration.
Japan’s four-time major winner paid tribute to her nation’s culture by arriving for her opening match at the All England Club in an elegant, full-length kimono, entirely white to adhere to the tournament’s rules.
It comes after the 28-year-old sparkled in a glittering gold tennis dress that resembled “the Eiffel Tower at night” at the French Open, having worn a spectacular jellyfish-inspired outfit at the Australian Open in January.
“When I think about Wimbledon, it’s obviously the all white. There’s obviously the tradition of it all,” explained Osaka, following her 6-1 7-5 victory over French player Elsa Jacquemot.
“In my head, when I think about that, I think about my cultures, my heritage, which is Japanese and Haitian.
“Then, if I dive deeper into Japanese culture, I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is a kimono. You don’t have to see the colour of a kimono to know that it is a kimono.
“I don’t know, I was thinking about my favourite movies also. I love Kill Bill. I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu’s character.
“She has an all-white kimono, and I remember thinking that was really cool. Then it just kind of went from there. It was like my interpretation of that, while also paying a lot of respect and love to Japan.”
