Naomi Osaka feared umpire would ‘kick her off court’ after causing a stir | Tennis | Sport

Naomi Osaka has admitted that she feared getting “kicked off court” for wearing a sparkly dress during her first-round match at the French Open. The four-time Major champion loves making a sartorial statement at the Grand Slam tournaments, often turning heads with her looks, and that was no different on Tuesday. Osaka took to Court Suzanne-Lenglen wearing a black corset and a long maxi-skirt, then took them off to reveal a glittering gold number.

But the No. 15 seed has now admitted that she made a backup plan and brought some other dresses with her, as she feared the glimmering gold dress could reflect light and be seen as a hindrance to her opponent.

Discussing her new on-court look, Osaka said: “Yeah, I just think it’s kind of funny, like, ironically, but I really, when I first saw the dress in real life, I felt like I look like the Eiffel Tower at nighttime, when it’s, like, bright and, like, kira, kira and all that.

“And then I actually got a little worried, because when the sun hits the dress, it reflects a lot. So I was a little scared that the umpire was going to kick me off the court. So I got, like, two backup normal Nike dresses – shoutout, Nike – thank God I didn’t have to wear them, though. Yeah, I just really, I don’t know, I thought the reflection of the dress was really beautiful, but it just reminded me of the Eiffel Tower a little bit.”

Explaining how her French Open ensemble came to be, the former world No. 1 added: “I mean, the kit, like, the outer shell? Well, you know, like the playing kit is Nike, of course. Then the outer pieces are Kevin Germanier.

“I don’t know. For me, obviously, like, Australian Open was really fun. I got to collaborate with Robert Wun. Then just to come here and be in Paris and collaborate with Kevin.

“Also, it just it’s just fun to watch designers work, especially when there is like an already pre-existing thing that they have to design around, and just to see the ideas. We kind of, like, talked back and forth. For me, that’s the most interesting part.”

Another special detail about Osaka’s outfit lies with the black top and skirt she wore during the walk-on. Germanier upcycled parts of her old Nike dresses for the pieces. And the 28-year-old explained that the dramatic walk-ons didn’t affect her ability to quickly focus on her tennis.

“Obviously with Australia, it’s, like, that was a real conversation starter. So for me, I don’t really feel like it’s too much of a big deal to do that and then play after. I could see where people would think I feel a little stressed or whatever. I think that’s kind of the thing about it,” she explained.

“Like sometimes people say athletes are, like, in show business or entertainers or whatever. I feel like for me, like, Grand Slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like I’m an entertainer.”

Osaka had teased an exciting outfit during her pre-tournament press conference, when she was asked about causing a stir with her fashion and joked: “What stir?” She then added: “I definitely would say I’m doing something here too.”

And the Japanese star made a statement with her tennis, too, beating Laura Siegemund 6-3 7-6(3) after the German served for the second set.

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