Tennis great Naomi Osaka is officially back at the U.S. Open, and she is showing up in style.
On Tuesday, Aug. 27, the 26-year-old returned to USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City after two years away wearing an impossible-to-miss outfit—a custom-made collaboration from AMBUSH designer Yoon Ahn and Nike in the color of the summer, brat green.
Not only was Osaka giving unapologetic brat, she also stepped onto the court covered in head-to-toe bows, including bows on the back of her sneakers as well as her bright green tennis dress.
The custom outfit featured a removable green and white tulle tutu, as well as a white windbreaker that also featured, you guessed it, a bright green bow.
The outfit also included a satin bomber, because it's brat summer, ya'll!
In an interview for a new profile on Osaka featured in Highsnobiety, Osaka's brat green outfit is a "nod to our love for Japan and Japanese subcultures, where both of us are from."
Osaka famously withdrew from the French Open in 2021, then took a step back from the competitive tennis court to prioritize her mental health and to start a family. In January 2023, she announced she was pregnant and would not be competing that year. In July of the same year, she gave birth to her daughter, People reported at the time.
Osaka did return to the U.S. Open in 2023, but not to compete—she instead spoke on a panel with Michael Phelps (among others) on the importance of mental health in sports.
“I actually felt lonely during my pregnancy just because I felt like I wasn’t able to do a lot of things,” she said at the time. "Normally I’m thinking, ‘If I’m going to be an independent woman, then I’m not going to ask anyone for help. Whenever something happens, just take it on the chin.’ But then I got to a place where I needed to ask for help.”
In a 2020 essay for Esquire, Osaka also touched on her many identities that exist outside of tennis.
"As long as I can remember, people have struggled to define me. I’ve never really fit into one description—but people are so fast to give me a label. Is she Japanese? American? Haitian? Black? Asian? Well, I’m all of these things together at the same time," she wrote at the time.
"I was born in Osaka, Japan to a Haitian father and Japanese mother. I spent my formative years growing up in the United States. I’m a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a girlfriend," she continued. "I’m Asian, I’m Black, and I’m female. I’m as normal a 22-year-old as anyone, except I happen to be good at tennis. I’ve accepted myself as just me: Naomi Osaka."
Naomi Osaka celebrates winning a point against Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko during their women's singles first round match on day two of the US Open tennis tournament at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on August 27, 2024
In an interview with The New York Times, Osaka spoke on the type of fashion she saw, giving some additional insight into her return outfit and homage to her country.
"I remember one of the first times I went to Japan, I saw so many frills and so many bows,” Osaka told the publication. “I wouldn’t automatically associate myself with being girlish when I’m on the court, but I tend to gravitate toward really beautiful and cute things. I think there’s something quite cool in making that an emphasis.”
