“I grew up with the GOATs of style—Serena, Venus, Sharapova”: Osaka reflects on tennis style icons at Australian Open

Naomi Osaka stayed with the victory in a tight match against Antonia Ruzic, a young Croatian who surprised the four-time Grand Slam champion and pushed her to the limit in the first round of the Australian Open.

The Japanese arrived at Melbourne Park as world No. 17 – her best ranking entering a Grand Slam in several seasons. Her arrival at Rod Laver Arena drew attention with her ‘jellyfish and butterflies’ inspired outfit, designed exclusively for her by Nike: “I really love fashion, and that makes me excited to wake up and do the whole walk-on,” she commented in the press conference. “It creates a little bit more joy in the whole match preparation.”

“I don’t think in my mind, ‘I’m going to put this on, and if I lose, it’s a wrap.’ The only thing I do change sometimes is my hair. If I put it in a ponytail, sometimes I can’t see. And obviously, with braids, I really can’t see if I play with braids. So that’s the only thing I’m really conscious of.”

The former world No. 1 has been perhaps the most eye-catching player during the last Grand Slam tournaments in terms of her outfits, and it has been an almost mandatory topic in press conferences. Osaka mentioned that she would like to see more players trying to use their platform to show more creative outfits.

“There’s room for 127 other players in the draw who might not all want to be extra, but could make moments too,” Naomi Osaka added. “I grew up with the GOATs of style—Serena, Venus, Sharapova. People don’t talk about her enough, but Bethanie Mattek-Sands too. She made it work with what she had.”

“I think it all comes down to personality. I don’t expect someone who’s really reserved to put a veil on their head and go out and play. But you do see bits of personality. I’ve seen people with bows in their hair, and that’s always going to be the first step into something. I’m always curious what the next thing will be.”

Things on court were not very easy for the Japanese, who had to come back from a break down in the third set – winning the final three games in a row (including two breaks) to secure the victory 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

“I tried to change it up a little,” she explained regarding the final minutes of the match. “I knew she had a really good backhand, so I tried to hit more to her forehand. I tried to be a little bit more solid and then accelerate when I could. And obviously, my serve came in really clutch at the end.”

The two-time Australian Open champion now awaits her next challenge against world No. 41 Sorana Cirstea, who surprised Eva Lys in the first round (3-6, 6-4, 6-3). “Have I played her before? I don’t know if I have, but I’ve seen her around quite a few times,” Osaka said in her press conference. “I actually watched her match earlier. She was playing really solid. I didn’t even know she was my opponent at the time, but she looked really good. I think that’ll be a really good match.”

Osaka defends the third round reached in 2025, so she still needs to surpass Cirstea if she wants – at least – not to lose points. For now, the Japanese has advanced in the live rankings to No. 14 and will return to the court on Thursday.