Naomi Osaka of Japan walks onto Rod Laver Arena for her first round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Naomi Osaka of Japan walks onto Rod Laver Arena for her first round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Naomi Osaka of Japan walks onto Rod Laver Arena for her first round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Naomi Osaka of Japan walks onto Rod Laver Arena for her first round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Naomi Osaka of Japan walks onto Rod Laver Arena for her first round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (Joel Carrett/AAP Image via AP)
Naomi Osaka of Japan walks onto Rod Laver Arena for her first round match against Antonia Ruzic of Croatia at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
Naomi Osaka of Japan plays a forehand return to Antonia Ruzic of Croatia during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Naomi Osaka made a fashion statement and quite an entrance to the Australian Open, wearing a wide-brim hat, veil and holding a white parasol as she walked onto Rod Laver Arena for her first-round match on Tuesday.
The No. 16 seed then went on to win 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 against Antonia Ruzic in 2 hours and 22 minutes.
A symbolic butterfly on her hat and umbrella was a reference to her Australian Open title in 2021, she explained in her on-court TV interview. The colors and tendrils on her dress represented a jellyfish in a design inspired by her daughter, Shai.
Osaka said her clothing sponsor, Nike, “let me design this one.â€
“It’s modeled after a jellyfish,†she said. “I’m just so grateful I get to do the things I love.â€
Osaka has won two of her four Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open in 2019 and 2021, the year a butterfly landed on her nose during a third-round match and became one of the iconic images of that tournament.
In social media posts Tuesday, the women's tour said Osaka's arrival was an iconic “diva-worthy†entrance, and described the hat as being “decorated with a butterfly and worn low over the eyes à la Beyoncé in the singer’s ‘Formation’ video.â€
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