Naomi Osaka hit the court in style at the 2026 French Open — but not everybody was willing to fawn over her dramatic look.
German tennis player Laura Siegemund was asked about Osaka’s ensemble after their first-round match on Tuesday, May 26.
“It’s something that really doesn’t matter to me,” Siegemund, 38, told TNT Sports. “I came here to play tennis, not to put on a fashion show. And if others want to put on a fashion show, then they should go ahead and do it.”
Osaka walked onto Court Suzanne Lenglen wearing an all-black ensemble featuring a corset and a flowing, pleated skirt. The four-time Grand Slam champion then revealed a gold, sparkly tennis dress underneath that she wore for the match.
Siegemund was less than impressed with the theatrics, arguing that Osaka’s outfit simply took too much time to take off.
“I find something else problematic,” Siegemund said. “In our sport, at every tournament, they count every second, right up until you’ve unpacked your water bottle. But she can have a minute and a half to change. I have a problem with that, because these rules simply exist and they are what they are — every second is now being watched so closely for us.”
She continued, “I also think that with performances like these, every second should be accounted for. That’s the only thing regarding the rules that I don’t think is OK and where, once again, bigger names are treated differently.”
Osaka dispatched Siegemund 6-3, 7-6 (3) to advance to the second round. After the match, Osaka was asked about the inspiration behind her look.
“Honestly, it’s very couture,” she told reporters. “And also, funny enough, you know the Eiffel Tower at night when it’s, like, sparkly? I kind of think I look like that a little bit.”
Osaka acknowledged there was pressure to deliver after her Robert Wun-designed look at the 2026 Australian Open went viral.
“We were trying to figure out, ‘How do we even follow up what happened in Australia?’” she said. “I think coming to Paris is really special … trying to find a designer who understands my style and understands what we’re trying to achieve wasn’t too difficult.”
For her French Open garb, Osaka enlisted Swiss designer Kevin Germanier, whom the tennis star credited for making quite the statement on her behalf.
“I tell people I don’t talk a lot, so that way I can talk through my clothes,” she explained. “That means I can be as loud with colors or patterns or fabric as I want. That’s the fun part. I feel like we lost that a little in tennis.”
Osaka will face Donna Vekić in the second round on Thursday, May 28.
