Naomi Osaka is a 26-year-old professional Japanese tennis player (No. 58). Although she has been ranked No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) in singles in the past, and she has won four grand slams, she is also notable for her distinctive style. She’s recently been adorned with ruffles and bows galore as can be seen in her recent outfits at the 2024 US Open.

Osaka is serving on the tennis court, not just with her looks. In August, she won against No. 10 Jeļena Ostapenko in the first round, her first top-ten win in the tournament since 2021. It was her return to the tournament after not participating in 2023 due to the birth of her daughter. She returned wearing this green outfit designed by Yoon Ahn that was inspired by their shared Japanese heritage in a collaboration between AMBUSH and Nike. She was covered in bows from head to toe.

In the second round, Osaka faced a disappointing loss against Karolína Muchová (No.8), but she still holds her head high. After her loss, she came to Instagram with a post captioned, “Honestly I had typed out a whole caption about how I’m disappointed with myself etc but I’ve been sitting here playing with my daughter and I realized that I couldn’t be more proud of myself. I gave birth to such an amazing human and I played the US Open? A win is a win. Sure it didn’t work out this time but I have faith it will eventually. Thank you NY 🖤 see you next time.” And shared a video of singer Rihanna saying “She can beat me but she cannot beat my outfit.”

Osaka opened up in August about the struggles she has faced since her return after her pregnancy, and that tennis doesn’t feel the same as it did for her before. In 2021, she also opened up about mental health struggles after facing backlash when she withdrew from the French Open after being fined $15,000 and faced the threat of expulsion for refusing to speak to the media following her first-round victory. Her choice to withdraw was to preserve her own mental health, and of this, she said this “The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that. Anyone that knows me knows I’m introverted and anyone that has seen me at the tournaments will notice that I’m often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety…”

Despite her struggles, Osaka continues to have a positive outlook and attitude and continues to serve both on and off the court. In 2021, she wore a captivating outfit to the Met Gala inspired by both her Japanese and Haitian Heritage, a Louis Vuitton dress that was co-designed by her sister Mari Osaka. Her recent looks at the US Open encouraged people with no interest in tennis to take notice, and despite her loss she was still widely talked about due to her outfits.

Throughout her career Osaka has been a mental health advocate, and since talking about mental health has become more normalized we should all show support to those who are willing to share their struggles. Being in the limelight can bring so much extra stress upon those who already face internal struggles. This return for Osaka as she has stated has been an extremely stressful time, and yet she persists with her optimistic outlook and has become an inspiration to many.