Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka turned heads at the US Open with high-fashion ensembles and luxury jewellery.
Osaka walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium for her first-round match wearing a custom ensemble inspired by basketball legend Allen Iverson. Styled by Law Roach, who also dresses Hollywood star Zendaya, the outfit featured a sleeveless hoodie embroidered with burnt press clippings over a full tulle ballgown skirt, paired with Iverson's signature headband and arm sleeves. Osaka secured her necessary win on the court at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.
On the eve of the tournament, Osaka conducted glamorous photoshoots across the venue in Flushing Meadows. She posed inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, by concession stands, and inside the media workroom.
The walk-on ensemble marks her latest fashion statement this season. At the Australian Open, Osaka wore a dress compared to a jellyfish with a billowing veil. She followed that with an Eiffel Tower inspired look at Roland-Garros, and outfits at Wimbledon referencing the Japanese art of paper-cutting and actress Lucy Liu in Kill Bill.
Osaka holds a unique position as the only active Nike player with a contract for unique custom kits. Her exclusive Australian Open dress sold out almost immediately upon release.
Luxury Jewellery and Custom Kits
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka made her own fashion statement in New York by wearing $400,000 worth of gemstones on court during her first-round match.
The jewellery set, named the Silhouette suite, was created for Sabalenka by sponsor Material Good and is valued at £295,000. It is the fourth set produced for her across the Grand Slam tournaments, designed to reflect the multicultural heritage of New York City. Her Wimbledon set featured emeralds.
Unlike Osaka, Sabalenka lacks an exclusive kit contract with Nike and receives custom colour choices instead. At Roland-Garros, Sabalenka introduced a black and red mesh ballet-style dress on TikTok, but world No 93 Oksana Selekhmeteva wore the off-the-rack version first during a defeat to Marta Kostyuk.
When asked about not having exclusive looks at the 2025 WTA Finals, Sabalenka teased, "Let's wait for 2027, because that will be sick!"
Sabalenka also faced online criticism over her US Open night-session dress, which critics branded "trashy." She wore a modified version for her first-round match.
Before the tournament, Sabalenka defended her outfit choice. "I love that it's different. I love that this outfit is bold," Sabalenka said. "Whatever people saying on Internet, I heard they probably didn't like it."
"It's like it's funny for me, because when Nike was pretty simple and standard, they were complaining. When Nike went really cool and fun and trying to get back, they always complain," Sabalenka added.
Sabalenka, who is an ambassador for fashion house Gucci, has seen her tournament style covered in publications such as Vogue, TIME, and Vanity Fair.
Luxury Brand Partnerships in Tennis
Other top players are expanding their fashion reach through major brand partnerships. American star Coco Gauff serves as an ambassador for Italian fashion brand Miu Miu, which partnered with her kit sponsor New Balance to create custom outfits starting in 2025.
Gauff wore one of these custom looks at Wimbledon, landing on several best-dressed lists. Fellow player Jelena Ostapenko told Daily Mail Sport that Gauff's outfit was her favourite of the tournament, boosting Miu Miu's visibility in the sport.
Traditional sponsors are also creating custom fashion moments for rising talent. Nike singled out Filipina player Alexandra Eala, the first player from the Philippines to enter the top 20 and reach the fourth round of a major.
For her Centre Court debut at Wimbledon last year, Eala wore a white hair accessory shaped like a sampaguita, the national flower of the Philippines. At New York Fan Week, she played an exhibition match wearing trainers featuring a tag celebrating her first WTA title, won earlier in the month in Washington.
Fashion Statements on the Men's Tour
The men's tour has also seen players make high-profile fashion choices during major tournaments. Italian world No 14 Lorenzo Musetti wore a white leather Bottega Veneta bomber jacket for his Wimbledon walk-on during 35-degree heat in south London.
German outfitter Hugo Boss supplied Taylor Fritz with a full white suit for his Wimbledon walk-on as a Roger Federer throwback, complete with Velcro tear-off trousers. However, Wimbledon officials banned a Boss outfit for Matteo Berrettini for being the wrong shade of cream.
The growing focus on on-court style reflects a shift since 1989, when Andre Agassi was mocked for appearing in a Canon advert declaring "image is everything." Today, player fashion choices regularly reach mainstream pop culture and fashion audiences.
