Naomi Osaka claims she doesn’t care about what her critics think of her or her extravagant outfits, but she cares enough to call them out on social media.
The four-time Grand Slam winner donned a number of different, very bold pre-match outfits throughout the U.S. Open, a trend she’s set for many years at this point in her career. After being bounced from the tournament in the Round of 16, Osaka had clearly reached her limit of online criticism regarding her ensemble.
“You know…idgaf [I don’t give a f—] if you don’t like me. I don’t mind being the first to do something and getting trashed for it,” Osaka wrote on Instagram Threads. “This happened when I talked about mental health and for some reason it’s happening with my clothes lol. I’m literally Haitian it’s in my blood to be this way, as long as the people after me have an easier path it’s worth it.”
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Osaka was born in Osaka, Japan, and plays under the Japanese flag, but her father, Leonard Francois, is from Jacmel, Haiti, hence her nod to her line about having Haitian blood. She and her family moved from Japan to Long Island, New York, when she was three years old.
Osaka kicked off her 2026 U.S. Open journey by wearing a short-sleeved hoodie, red and black arm sleeves, and a full-length skirt ahead of her first-round match. She also wore a red and black headband around her cornrow-style hair, and later explained that it was a tribute to NBA legend Allen Iverson.
Osaka and Nike teamed up for NBA-inspired looks throughout the week, although tipping a cap to Iverson, who has no ties to New York City, the host of the Grand Slam, was a head scratcher. Iverson was also never a Nike athlete during his career.
Ahead of her fourth-round loss to Elena Rybakina, Osaka wore a lavish coat done by KidSuper and a headband with the NBA logo on it before ditching it for a visor during the match.
Osaka infamously wore an outfit she explained was inspired by a jellyfish in a children’s book at the Australian Open.
