Naomi Osaka's Dazzling 'Jellyfish' Outfit Makes a Statement at the Aus Open

Naomi Osaka knows how to make an entrance. And a statement. However the Japanese superstar’s remarkable walk-out outfit for her 2026 Australian Open debut was nearly remembered for the upset loss it preceded. UFC 325: Volkanovski vs Lopes 2 | SUN 1 FEB 1PM AEDT | For the first time in his storied career, UFC featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski will defend his championship in his home city of Sydney, in a rematch with Brazil’s Diego Lopes. | Order Now with Main Event on Kayo Sports. Osaka, who has been one of sport’s highest earners even during a dip in her form due to lucrative sponsorships, produced one of the moments of the tournament before she even stepped onto the court. As Osaka walked through the pathway to Rod Laver Arena, she was shown holding a white umbrella and wearing a white veil over a wide, white-brimmed hat and her frilly blue and white Nike outfit. The jellyfish outfit included some simply Osaka touches including a butterfly - which famously landed on her face during the 2021 tournament. A reel of the outfit was posted on Osaka’s Instagram account almost immediately after she stepped onto the court for her first-round match against Croatia’s Antonia Ruzic. The caption on the post read ‘WUN OF ONE’ - a phrase she has used throughout her career to recognise that she is the only Japanese grand slam champion and world No.1. “Nike let me design this one and it’s modelled after a jellyfish,” Osaka explained post-match. “I’m just so grateful I get to be able to do the things that I love. It’s really beautiful and shout out Robert Wun for doing this for me. “There’s a butterfly on the hat and I don’t know if you can see it, but there’s a butterfly on the umbrella too. It has to do with the Open that I won in 2021, which I guess is a long time ago.” Meanwhile she told Vogue: “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. “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 was reading to her daughter Shai when “there was an image of a jellyfish, and when I showed it to her she got so excited. “It translated beautifully into the movement and fluidity of the sheer layers on the dress and the jacket. When I saw it during the fitting, I remember thinking, ‘this is beautiful,’ but also feeling like the story wasn’t fully finished yet.” “There’s a little Great Gatsby about it. It’s pure theatre,” Australian great Todd Woodbridge said on Nine’s coverage. “That’s bringing the theatre and the entertainment to Rod Laver Arena and centre court. “It’s a big statement early on.” Former British No.1 Laura Robson declared “it’s a vibe” on TNT Sports’ coverage. She then added: “I love it, this is a moment.” Fellow former British star Tim Henman replied: “Wow, I am speechless. It’s pretty cool. Does it put pressure on your performance?” To not mess with her aesthetic, Osaka’s tennis bag was waiting for her at her courtside bench. Commentator Sam Smith said the four-time grand slam champion’s entrance was almost like a throwback to a pioneer of the women’s sport, who boasts a court named in her honour at Roland Garros. “The first tennis and global (female) sports star was a lady called Suzanne Lenglen, who had that huge bandana,” Smith said. “In the 1920s, she was France’s best player. She played alongside Daphne Akhurst, after whom this trophy is named. “And I think if she was looking down now from tennis heaven, she would be admiring Naomi Osaka and the way she has brought fashion to the court tonight.” Having made such a statement walking onto the court, she needed to do the same on it, and Osaka delivered early. After breaking her opponent’s serve at the earliest opportunity Osaka took the first set 6-3. But the score line was reversed in the second set, which included a bizarre interruption as the red lights beside the net indicating when a play is out were stuck on for almost 10 minutes, before Ruzic sent the contest to a deciding third set. The pair traded breaks, with Ruzic - playing just her second grand slam match - remarkably finding herself serving while 4-3 up in the decider. That’s when Osaka found her best tennis of the night, winning three straight games to seal a 6-3 3-6 6-4 victory. Osaka will face Sorana Cirstea in the second round, and she has world No.2 Iga Swiatek as her projected fourth round opponent. The two-time champion is the No.16 seed at this year’s Australian Open, an event she won in 2019 and 2021.