Dear Gossips,

The mood today is how Naomi Osaka walked onto the court today for her first match at the Australian Open. It's a tennis tournament… but it can also be a fashion show.

This is what happened when Naomi arrived for her match.

The look is a collaboration between Naomi, Nike, and designer Robert Wun, who I’ve said many times should be much more of a presence on the red carpet because his work is stunning and drama, extra AF, perfect for those who want to go for it – which… I mean… why aren’t you going for it at these award shows?

Naomi definitely went for it. She says the outfit was inspired by when she was reading to her daughter, Shai, and how amazed Shai was when she was shown a photo of a jellyfish. So Nike took that idea and made it athletic. Then Naomi approached Robert and asked if he could add to it – you can read the full story about the design at Vogue - and Robert was already a fan…

The result is now one of the most memorable walk-on moments in tennis. And even though we don’t need to give any space to the haters, let’s shut down the complaints right now – if the tournament didn’t want this kind of performance and theatricality, they wouldn’t design a walk-on light this with all those screens and panels and the steady-cam tracking the players as they make their entrance.

The Australian Open, in particular, has been transparent about its ambition to become more popular; in fact, the three grand slams of tennis (the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open) are challenging Wimbledon for crown jewel supremacy; The Athletic called it an arms race last year and with Australia happening first on the tennis calendar, transforming the tournament into a festival experience, this is shots fired, as they are breaking attendance records already. And now the British media has been angst-reporting that Wimbledon is being left behind.

So, to go back to Naomi and her outfit, this is headline news today – generating much more attention to a tournament that wants more attention. The only people bitching about this are traditionalists and purists who only want to protect the status quo. And in tennis, the status quo has meant the sport’s stagnation, which is why the three other slams are trying new sh-t. Innovating in that way opens up opportunity for the players to be more creative, more expressive, to showcase their personality… and that, in part, is how we’ve arrived at Naomi’s moment.

She is one of the biggest stars on the tour, and this look is her gift to her sport. She’s giving it her all on the court, and then off the court, her fashion performance is also its own contribution to her sport. So if anything, tennis should be thanking her.

Yours in gossip,

Lainey 

Naomi Osaka at her Women's Singles first round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, on January 20, 2026

Photo credits: Rachel Bach/ Ella Ling/ JOEL CARRETT/EPA/Shutterstock

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