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Naomi Osaka turned heads with her sunflower-themed Nike shoes and hair clips as she took the court against Caroline Garcia in the first round of the 2025 Australian Open. Osaka came fresh off retiring in the final round of the ASB Classic due to an injury.
Osaka was off the court for a while due to pregnancy in 2023, returning to competition at the 2024 Brisbane International. Posting promising performances including two quarterfinal finishes in 2024, she ended her season in October, citing a back injury.
Osaka started her 2025 season with the Auckland Open, where she produced a strong performance to beat US player Alicia Parks and reach the final. However, she retired due to an abdominal injury after taking the first set, thus handing Danish player Clara Tauson the ASB Classic title.
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The former World No. 1 took the court in 2025's first Grand Slam tournament, going up against Caroline Garcia on January 13. Besides her tennis prowess, she turned heads with her sunflower-themed Nike outfit, including shoes and hair clips. Eurosport posted it on X:
Naomi Osaka defeated Garcia in a thrilling three-setter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and advanced to the second round, where she will face Czech player Karolina Muchova on January 15.
The Japanese has two Australian Open titles from the 2019 and 2021 editions besides two US Open titles that she won in 2018 and 2020.
Naomi Osaka hoped to participate at the Australian Open despite a setback in Auckland in her season opener
Naomi Osaka's abdominal surgery ended her ASB Classic bid but she exuded confidence in her form, having trained for her Melbourne stint for days. Speaking to the press at the Australian Open Media Day, she said (via WTA Tennis):
"The MRI, it wasn't fantastic but it wasn't bad at the same time. So saying all that, I'm pretty optimistic about playing my match. I mean, for sure I'm going to play my match. I've been practicing pretty well for the two days that I've been here. Seems to be going good."
After having joined coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Osaka has won seven matches and hopes to win more in the 2025 season.
"I think my mindset now is probably the most clear it's been in a very long time. Obviously, I did pretty well in Auckland. I know I debatably lost in the final. In my head I kind of won it. For me, that's definitely a new career stat because I've only ever been to the semis in tournaments before this one. I'm really excited to play here. I'm also excited to be here with Patrick because we technically haven't lost yet. So yeah, it's going to be a good run I think," she added.
The Grand Slam champion recently announced that she and her partner Cordae have ended their relationship. They share a daughter named Shai.
