Three days into the 2025 US Open, Naomi Osaka—the only woman who has won the tournament twice in the past decade—has turned the court into more than just a moment to win. In her first-round match against Belgium’s Greet Minnen, Osaka sported a hair look that claimed the court.
A bouquet of red bejeweled roses were spored into a faux-locked clip-in ponytail, which she removed right before she played. Think: Sha’Carri Richardson throwing her ginger wig off before her 2023 US Track and Field Championships win. Like Richardson, under Osaka’s ponytail was her hair braided up into the bun she defeated her opponent in, and was also adorned with three roses of its own.
And, other players are catching on. Coco Gauff, for example, kept her beauty simple (at least, from a distance). But, up close, her manicure was adorned with dimensional tennis skirts, bows, balls, rackets, and ruby tones with green aura. On a similar note, Taylor Townsend—who defeated her racist opponent, Jelena Ostapenko—had flames painted onto hers.
As the line between beauty and sports becomes more thin than ever before—from Serena Williams’s Wyn Beauty and Sloane Stephens’s Doc & Glo to beauty brands partnering with Olympic and National athletes—Osaka is taking it as an opportunity to turn tunnel walks towards tennis. Except, this time, beauty is at the center.