Naomi Osaka reveals latest French Open outfit for night match against Aryna Sabalenka

Naomi Osaka revealed another new look at this year’s French Open, this time for her blockbuster night session match against world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Four-time grand slam champion Osaka’s outfits have been the talk of the tournament at Roland Garros, and this time she revealed a slightly altered design that saw the section of sparkly gold sequins continue into a flowing gold train, which was then removed before the start of the match.

Following her jellyfish-inspired walk-on at the season’s Australian Open and her show-stopping collaboration with Beyonce’s regular couturier Robert Wun at May’s Met Gala in New York, Osaka has revealed a series of outfits inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

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The Japanese star walked onto court wearing a flowing black skirt ahead of her first-round match against Laura Seigemund, before revealing a sparkling gold sequined playing dress that was designed to look like the Eiffel Tower at night.

For her second-round match against Donna Vekic, Osaka retained the gold playing dress but topped it with a metallic gold bomber jacket and an ivory train reminiscent of a wedding dress.

Osaka hinted that she had an additional look prepared in the event of a night match, with her fourth-round encounter against world No 1 Sabalenka becoming the first women’s singles match to be scheduled in the night session in three years.

The French Open has faced criticism in recent years for almost exclusively scheduling men’s singles matches in the prime-time slot since its introduction in 2021, with Osaka-Sabalenka ending a run of 33 consecutive men’s matches.

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”You guys keep asking and I keep providing, like why are we still asking?” Osaka replied with a laugh when asked if she would have a “night” look prepared. “I mean, I think it's fun, like and every silhouette is inspired by something different.”

The 28-year-old Osaka also explained that her custom Nike kits are planned and designed up to 18 months in advance, with this particular design requiring at least four different fittings before arriving at Roland Garros, where she is through to the fourth-round for the first time.

“I have a lot of meetings with Nike and I don't think people realise how much time and like effort they put into every outfit,” she said. “They plan it like a year and a half in advance, and that's like minimum. There's a lot of effort that goes into it.”

Osaka, an introvert, has said she uses fashion to “talk through my clothes” and says walk-ons at the grand slam tournaments are “the only time that I possibly feel like I’m an entertainer” and said there’s a “community that has been built over my on-court outfits”.

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Not everyone is a fan, though. After her defeat to Osaka in the first round, Laura Siegemund questioned how much time her opponent was allowed to take to change her clothes and claimed the former world No 1 was receiving special treatment.

“I couldn’t care less,” Siegemund told TNT Sports of Osaka’s catwalk-like entrance. “I come here to play tennis, not to put on a fashion show. And if others want to put on a fashion show, then they should go ahead and do it. That’s totally fine with me.

“I find something else problematic. In our sport, at every tournament they count every second, right up until you’ve unpacked your water bottle. But she can have a minute and a half to change. I have a problem with that, because these rules simply exist and they are what they are – every second is now being watched so closely for us.

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“And I also think that with performances like these, every second should be accounted for. That’s the only thing regarding the rules that I don’t think is okay and where, once again, bigger names are treated differently.”