‘I am speechless’: Naomi Osaka makes statement with Australian Open walk-on outfit

Former world No 1 Osaka, who is known for her bespoke costume designs, arrived onto the court at the Rod Laver Arena with her face covered by a wide-brimmed hat and billowing white veil, while holding a matching umbrella. The Japanese star completed the look with flared trousers, which she then removed before her warm-up.

Osaka’s first-round opponent, the Croatian Antonia Ruzic, ranked 65th in the world, appeared stunned by Osaka’s outfit at the pre-match coin toss, with her own arrival onto the court completely overshadowed by Osaka’s reveal. Ruzic had emerged wearing a simple sports t-shirt and shorts.

“It’s a vibe,” said Laura Robson, the former British No 1. “I love it, this is a moment.”

Also speaking on TNT Sports was Tim Henman, who said he was “not qualified to comment”.

But he added: “Wow, I am speechless. It’s pretty cool. Does it put pressure on your performance?”

Osaka, however, also let her tennis do the talking as she won the first three games of the match.

The 16th seed reached the US Open semi-finals last season, in her best result since returning to the sport after becoming a mother in 2023.

Madison Keys recovered from early stage fright to begin the defence of her Australian Open title in winning fashion.

The American claimed a long-sought-after first grand slam victory here 12 months ago, beating Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka on Rod Laver Arena, but returning to the same court against Ukrainian debutante Oleksandra Oliynykova threatened to turn into a nightmare.

Keys lost the opening four games, clawed her way back to a tie-break and had to save two set points before finally relaxing and pulling away to win 7-6 (6) 6-1.

"The moment they say, 'Ready, play', it kind of all hits you in a way that I don't think you can ever really explain to someone," said a relieved Keys afterwards.

"But, as nerve-racking and as stressful as that can be, I'm still reminding myself of just how few people get to be in that moment, and being able to walk out today and have the crowd be as welcoming as they were, I'll take the stress any day."

Although she could not pull off the upset, it was a moment of immense pride for 25-year-old Oliynykova, who made her mark for more than just her temporary facial tattoos.

She has risen rapidly up the rankings and revealed she takes inspiration from her father, who is fighting for Ukraine in the country's war with Russia.

"I'm so proud of him," she said. "Actually, this is something that is keeping me motivated even more. After he joined the military, I did progress for over 200 (ranking) positions, because I know it was his dream to see me on this court."

Unlike most of her compatriots, Oliynykova still lives and trains in Ukraine, with all the dangers that currently brings.

"During the preparations, I was hearing the explosions," she said. "There was a couple of massive attacks the last night I spent in Ukraine before the trip here.

"There was an explosion just near my home, and a drone hit the home just across the road. My apartment was literally shaking because of the explosion. In my apartment, I have no electricity, no water, no heat. Every opportunity to say about this, I believe it's very important."

On a good day for the big names, there were straight-sets victories for Elena Rybakina and Ben Shelton, while men's fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti had fought back from a set down to lead Raphael Collignon by two sets to one when the Belgian became the latest player to retire injured.

Teenage star Joao Fonseca, though, is still waiting for his grand slam breakthrough after losing 6-4 2-6 6-1 6-2 to American Eliot Spizzirri.

Katie Boulter was supported like an adopted Aussie as she went down swinging in a 6-0 7-5 defeat to in-form 10th seed Belinda Bencic.

Boulter has handed a difficult opening match against Bencic, who returned to the world’s top-10 ahead of the Australian Open after winning five matches in a row to start the season, including victories over Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini.

Boulter is engaged to Alex de Minaur, the men’s No 6 and top home hope at the Australian Open, who was watching court-side at the Margaret Court Arena, and the former British No 1 was cheered on by chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” from the crowd.

Boulter had set her expectations extremely low after a difficult 2025, where her ranking plummeted to outside the world’s top 100, and she required late withdrawals to make it into the main draw and avoid the qualifying rounds.

The 29-year-old also changed coaches ahead of the new season, hiring Maria Sharapova’s former coach Michael Joyce for the Australian Open, and said she was under no pressure ahead of her first-round match against the in-form Bencic.

“I'm just going to go out and swing,” Boulter said. “I really don't think there's any pressure. I don't think there's anyone in this room that thinks I'm going to win that match.”

Boulter’s assessment appeared to be accurate when she lost a bagel set in just 26 minutes, but the second set was a far more competitive contest after the British player held serve for the first time in the opening game.

After dropping serve, Boulter bounced back to break Bencic for the first time and level the match at 4-4. But the former Olympic champion broke Boulter for the second time late in the set, before serving out a 6-0 7-5 win.

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