Is Tennis Ready for a Fashion Revolution?
Naomi Osaka’s custom Australian Open look kickstarted heated internet discourse about “traditional sportswear”, proving tennis has a lot of catching up to do on the sartorial front.
This year’s Australian Open has kicked off the tennis season in stunning fashion, whilst managing to stir up a contentious conversation about fashion in the process. When Naomi Osaka walked onto the court for her first match in Melbourne sporting a custom Nike and Robert Wun collaboration, she knew she was going to make headlines. However, the arguments, dialogue and general intrigue about the look have dominated the internet since her first serve.
Whether or not fashion, and the spectacle it comes with, deserves a place in the prim and proper world of tennis is a question that has crossed the minds of many. Some have a close-minded idea of what is “acceptable” fashion for a Grand Slam, whilst others are more open to players exploring their style on the court as much as they do off of it. On Threads, Osaka said, “There’s a demographic that’s been talking about ‘traditional’ tennis outfits and calling me classless for what I wear. I don’t do this for them, though — they will never get it, and I don’t want them to. I do this for the people that are like me.”
Though Osaka’s outfit seems to have generated this new conversation and interest around fashion and tennis, the two worlds have had an intimate yet somewhat strained relationship for decades. From Lacoste’s viral tennis skirt handbag to brands like FILA and Ellesse’s roots in the sport, it seems as though tennis and fashion are constantly dancing around each other, but never fully integrating.
Osaka has consistently been one of the few players in history to truly embrace fashion as an art form complementary to her craft. Her Harajuku-inspired Nike x AMBUSH kit at the U.S. Open in 2024 brought a fun, flirty and feminine element to the court. In 2025, she hit New York City with another look for the tournament: bright red crystal roses as hair accessories with a matching pair of embellished headphones.
Though these moments captivated audiences, with many saying she was following in Serena and Venus Williams’ footsteps as an on-court fashion icon, traditional fans have been quick to criticize her. They claim that she’s looking for attention and her focus should be on the sport. If she doesn’t win every match, they blame it on the clothes rather than fate.
Other than the obvious racial undertones in those sentiments that Osaka has addressed multiple times, it speaks to the wider lack of interest tennis has in fashion, even with its extensive history as a muse to some of the biggest labels and designers.
Tennis, despite being one of the most fashionable sports in the world, has historically failed to capitalize on that fact. In any other sport, fans are able to wear what their icons wear every week. If you want to buy an authentic Inter Miami jersey to feel like Lionel Messi at your next pick-up soccer game, you can. If A’ja Wilson inspires you to get on the court every day, her jersey is up for grabs on multiple platforms. In tennis, it’s virtually impossible to wear what the pros wear at tournaments. You can admire Aryna Sabalenka’s kit from afar, but it won’t be on sale anytime soon. At least, that used to be the case.
It seems that brands are finally catching up to tennis’s role as an inspiration in the increasingly blended worlds of sport and fashion. New Balance sold Coco Gauff’s Australian Open kit for the first time this year, finally allowing fans to dress like their favorite player on their own local courts. From her warm-up tracksuit and pastel-colored sets down to her shoes, the full Gauff look has made its way to retail, with the brand utilizing its biggest star as a catalyst for sales.
It seems like common sense to make the biggest and most stylish players’ kits available for purchase, but tennis has always been an exclusive members’ club in the world of fashion, though this year’s Australian Open could be a turning point. Like Gauff, Osaka’s Grand Slam look is on sale for the first time, too. Despite the critics and naysayers claiming the jellyfish ruffles and pleated trousers were all over the place and unpalatable, it is nearly sold out in every size.
For sports to fully embrace fashion from the boardrooms to the stands, it takes years of effort. Basketball is arguably one of the best examples of a sport that encourages its athletes to explore self-expression through clothing and beauty, but it wasn’t always that way. The comments that have been hurled at Osaka, the Williams sisters and countless other tennis players over the years have also been used against athletes in other sports. The difference is that as time went on, the sport itself brought fashion into the equation, seeing how much more marketable it made players, teams and leagues when that shared global language was in the mix.
It might not have ended in a trophy for her, but Osaka’s Australian Open run has potentially spearheaded a fashion movement in one of the most conservative sports on earth. She has proven time and time again that fashion doesn’t have to be a distraction, and it’s time the entire sport got on her wavelength.
Basketball, soccer and football have gotten a head start, but for tennis to catch up, it starts with the brands and tournaments. Osaka is constantly turning heads when she shows up to a Grand Slam, but she doesn’t have to be the only one. If Nike, New Balance, adidas and more continue to build around their star players, creating memorable looks for the year’s biggest tournaments that get the world talking, tennis’ fashion revolution might finally take off.
