The Fashion Queen of Wimbledon, Naomi Osaka

More athletes should start dressing like iconic villainesses from pop culture history!

By Claire Guinan  |  June 30, 2026 | 12:35pm
Image: ESPN FashionSports Naomi Osaka
The Fashion Queen of Wimbledon, Naomi Osaka

Move aside, Fashion Week. It’s Wimbledon time, and there’s a new fashionista on the court turning up the heat: Naomi Osaka, four-time Grand Slam winner and now, my new style icon.

In May, Osaka turned heads at the French Open with a series of couture looks, and while her tournament ended in the fourth round with a loss to world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, her hobby for high fashion remained. When Osaka arrived at Wimbledon on Monday for her first match, she came to serve, bitch—in every sense of the word. In her walk-out onto the All England Club to face off against French player Elsa Jacquemot, Osaka wore a bespoke Japanese ceremonial dress, a collaboration with Tokyo-based designer Hana Yagi, which has got to be the best way to intimidate your opponent.

“I like to use fashion as a medium for storytelling,” Osaka told British Vogue. “Every walk-out is an opportunity to bring people into my creative world. The fact that people care about it and are excited to see what’s next is also pretty cool.” Yes, tennis is the main event, duh. But who’s complaining if she spices up the walk-out with a little something something? We’re having fun. And whether it was intimidation or skill, Osaka won the match in straight sets and advanced to the next round, where she’ll play on Wednesday and, hopefully, serve even more high fashion.

But now a moment for the dress: “The garment is constructed from vintage shiromuku [traditional Japanese bridal garments], kimono and wedding dresses – ceremonial garments originally created to mark important moments in people’s lives,” Yagi told Vogue. The retired garments “carry memory, emotion and history”.

“I was thinking about my favorite movies,” Osaka explained in a post-match interview, “I love Kill Bill, and then I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu’s character, and she has an all-white kimono.” Maybe more athletes should start dressing like iconic villainesses from pop culture history! And even better when the look thoughtfully references a player’s cultural heritage on an international stage.

Over the weekend, Osaka withdrew from the Bad Homburg Open final with a foot injury, presumably saving what she could for Wimbledon. So, I’m hoping we get to see more of her, both for her style and her athleticism. Another tennis/fashion GOAT, Serena Williams, will come out of retirement on Tuesday for her first Wimbledon singles match in four years, so I’ll be rooting for both and taking frantic fashion notes. 

 
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