MELBOURNE, Australia — Naomi Osaka has turned heads on and off the tennis court, and she generated quite a buzz at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

The two-time Australian Open women’s singles champion from Japan walked onto the Rod Laver Arena wearing a jellyfish-inspired outfit.

Osaka, 28, sported a frilly greenish-blue athletic dress with swishy white pleated pants, The New York Times reported. She topped off the look with a white hat, veil and parasol.

The hat and umbrella were adorned with symbolic butterflies, which referenced her last title run at the Australian Open in 2021, according to The Associated Press. She won her first Australian Open in 2019.

Osaka’s opening entrance was gaudy, but the former world No. 1 player and four-time Grand Slam singles champion did not turn into jelly during her first-round match in Melbourne. Osaka defeated Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Osaka’s outfit was developed by her sponsor, Nike, and designer Robert Wun, who has also designed outfits for Beyoncé, Cardi B, and Ariana Grande.

“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, who ended the 2025 season ranked No. 16 in the world, told Vogue.“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.”

Osaka said she got the inspiration for the outfit while she was reading to Shai, her 2-year-old daughter.

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

Boris Becker, a former No. 1 men’s player who currently broadcasts for TNT, said he had mixed feelings about Osaka’s garb.

“The way she entered the court is already iconic. No other player has dared to wear such an outfit,” Becker said. “But there is also a contradiction: on the one hand, she doesn’t want to be under so much pressure, she doesn’t want to be in the public eye and in the media so much -- and then she comes onto center court in an outfit like that.

“Of course, that puts her back in the public spotlight. I would point out that she also needed a mental break a few years ago. For me, it’s generally important that the focus here is on the sport.”

In 2021, Osaka withdrew from the French Open after one round, citing her mental health. She only played in three more tournaments that year.

She has made fashion statements before. During Day 3 of the 2025 U.S. Open, Osaka strode onto the court dressed in a red Nike kit with a bejeweled jacket, bloomers, and red roses in her hair, according to Vogue. She also wore a rhinestone-encrusted Labubu, which Osaka nicknamed “Billie Jean Bling.”

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