Osaka 'pays love and respect to Japan' in Wimbledon kimono

Naomi Osaka has long been renowned for dazzling crowds with her on-court outfits - but making that compatible with Wimbledon's strict dress code required special inspiration.Japan's four-time major winner paid tribute to her nation's culture by arriving for her opening match at the All England Club in an elegant, full-length kimono, entirely white to adhere to the tournament's rules.It comes after the 28-year-old sparkled in a glittering gold tennis dress that resembled "the Eiffel Tower at night" at the French Open, having worn a spectacular jellyfish-inspired outfit at the Australian Open in January."When I think about Wimbledon, it's obviously the all white. There's obviously the tradition of it all," explained Osaka, following her 6-1 7-5 victory over French player Elsa Jacquemot."In my head, when I think about that, I think about my cultures, my heritage, which is Japanese and Haitian."Then, if I dive deeper into Japanese culture, I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is a kimono. You don't have to see the colour of a kimono to know that it is a kimono. "I don't know, I was thinking about my favourite movies also. I love Kill Bill. I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu's character. "She has an all-white kimono, and I remember thinking that was really cool. Then it just kind of went from there. It was like my interpretation of that, while also paying a lot of respect and love to Japan."Because Osaka was playing on an outside court, the former world number one had to be escorted through the crowds to her match.Unsurprisingly, many unsuspecting fans could not help but stop and take in Osaka's latest fashion statement as the 28-year-old passed them on the walkway."From my end, I thought that was really fun just because I didn't think anyone expected that," Osaka said."I try to lock in a little bit and wear my headphones. I could feel when I walked by someone, they would physically turn their whole body. I thought that was really fun."It was cool because I heard some people say, Wow, that's a really beautiful kimono and stuff like that. So it was nice."Osaka said she preferred to "shake things up" when asked if she would wear the kimono before her other matches at Wimbledon, with Russian Anastasia Gasanova up next.Osaka has re-established herself in the world's top 20 since the birth of her daughter in 2023, and reached the semi-finals at last year's US Open.But she has never gone beyond the third round at Wimbledon - and said that wearing such outfits can bring added pressure."I wouldn't say it eases my nerves to wear these outfits because a little part of my mind wants to do well so I can continue wearing them," Osaka said."Obviously, like for the French Open, you don't want to wear a ball gown and lose in the first round. That does cross my mind a little bit."She added: "It's something that I'm used to doing, wearing these extravagant outfits. "I feel like everyone has their own way of showing that they're into fashion. I'm always really surprised whenever I go to the locker room, I get a lot of questions about it. It seems to be fun for everyone. You just wouldn't expect it."