Naomi Osaka sets tongues wagging with latest fashion show at Wimbledon | Tennis | Sport

Naomi Osaka has once again sparked debate at Wimbledon as she walked onto Court 1 in a Japanese-style robe, after previously wearing all-white kimono outfits. As she prepared to face Daria Kasatkina in the third round, an opponent she has a perfect record against, almost every seat was filled to catch one of the biggest shows at SW19.

As the crowd sat in anticipation, cameras caught Osaka moving away from the kimono dress she donned in her opening match. In her second-round tie, Osaka walked through the Wimbledon crowd to make her way onto court wearing a flower-embroidered jacket, causing gasps once more as she ripped up the Wimbledon traditions while sticking to the all-white dress code.

Against Kasatkina, Osaka walked out to court wearing a large Japanese robe, with no belt, as the Nike logo was visible. She had the sponsor covered up in previous matches, and this time the tulle train was attached to the robe, rather than being separate garments in the opening rounds.

Osaka also returned to the flower headband she wore in the first round, but ditched for the second, as her fashion statements have continued to be an exciting storyline at each Grand Slam.

The Japanese star, 28, has garnered popularity online and attracted a very strong following for her fashion.

To open up her campaign, Osaka explained why she chose her grand outfit, saying: “For me, like when someone talks about Wimbledon or when I think about Wimbledon, it’s like obviously the all white. It’s the oldest tournament, right, the oldest slam or something?

“Yeah, then there’s obviously, like, the tradition of it all. 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 like 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 just thinking about my favourite movies also. I love Kill Bill. I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Lu’s character. She has an all-white kimono, and I remember thinking that was really cool and amazing. 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.”

After the second round, she added: “I grew up in Florida for the most part when I was in my development years or whatever. Then I took a trip to Japan one day. Then obviously you go to Harajuku and you see everyone expressing themselves through clothes. It was just so cool and colourful. That stuck out to me a lot. I kind of used that in my fashion experimentation.

“I don’t really ever have a plan when it comes to clothes. I think it’s okay to try something and fail, but I’d rather just try it and see how it goes.”