{"id":427121,"date":"2026-01-21T06:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T06:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/427121\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T06:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T06:14:12","slug":"how-tennis-stars-are-reclaiming-fashion-spotlight-from-wags","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/427121\/","title":{"rendered":"How tennis stars are reclaiming fashion spotlight from WAGs"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Damien<\/p>\n

Updated January 21, 2026 \u2014 12:48pm,first published 12:22pm<\/p>\n

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When Naomi Osaka walked into Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open<\/a> wearing a floor-length jellyfish-inspired outfit and hat, there was a seismic shift in tennis fashion.<\/p>\n

Gliding onto centre court with the intensity of an assassin in Quentin Tarantino\u2019s Kill Bill movies, the former world number one appeared to be lost. The Melbourne Cup was two months ago<\/a> and a hat with a veil, pleated mini-skirt and wide-legged pants with a matching parasol would even raise micro-bladed eyebrows in the fashion free-for-all in the Birdcage at Flemington Racecourse.<\/p>\n

Osaka\u2019s purpose became clear as the tendrils on her turquoise tie-dye dress moved in time with gasps from the crowd. After years of tennis WAGs and celebrities<\/a> in sponsored outfits stealing the spotlight, the 28-year-old had shifted the fashion focus back to the players.<\/p>\n

\"NaomiNaomi Osaka steps out at the Australian Open wearing an outfit inspired by jellyfish with a touch of butterfly. It was designed by the player, couturier Robert Wun and Nike.Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cSo much of the time, other people get to write our stories for us,\u201d Osaka told US Vogue<\/a>. \u201cThis felt like a moment where I could write a little bit of my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

The arresting outfit, designed by Osaka with Hong Kong-born, London-based designer Robert Wun and her sponsor Nike, was crammed with meaning.<\/p>\n

Fabric butterflies on her hat and parasol were callbacks to when the most fashion-forward of insects landed on Osaka\u2019s nose at the Australian Open in 2021. The vivid ruffles on her official Nike kit referenced jellyfish, which delight Osaka\u2019s two-year-old daughter Shai.<\/p>\n

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The biggest statement, which could be registered from the nosebleed seats, was that Osaka loves dressing up<\/a> and other players are following her approach with the same eagerness that Zara designers follow Paris Fashion Week.<\/p>\n

At New Balance\u2019s brutalist grey compound at Melbourne Park, fans are already queuing for the periwinkle sports kit designed by Coco Gauff for the AO.<\/p>\n

Gauff must think that Osaka\u2019s butterflies are so last season, having worn them as part of her Wimbledon attire.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a corset type outfit that had 3D butterflies on it and strawberries,\u201d Gauff says. \u201cIt was really cool, but it was kind of hard to put on to be honest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time people are able to buy my kit. I\u2019m happy to share the love.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CocoCoco Gauff in the New Balance uniform she designed, which is available to the public.AP<\/p>\n

\u201cMy past kits have been more complicated which could be harder to sell, but they\u2019ll get more complicated later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the future Gauff can follow Osaka\u2019s ambitious lead with greater details, and fully express the creative side of her personality.<\/p>\n

Editor’s pick\"Paige<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a female athlete, at times people try to put you in a box and feel like we have to be locked into our sport 24\/7, but with any job that\u2019s just not going to happen,\u201d Gauff says. \u201cTo showcase my personality off the court … I just want to leave an impact.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osaka and Gauff are shifting the needle of tennis style. At recent AO tournaments, influencers such as Morgan Riddle and Paige Lorenze (partners of players Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul respectively) have stolen fashion headlines.<\/p>\n

In April, former Top 20 player Daria Saville posted to TikTok<\/a> that athletes were being ignored by fashion brands in favour of WAGs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all over the place, but female tennis players are not getting those brand deals,\u201d Saville said. \u201cIt\u2019s actually a tennis WAG that fit into the \u2018aesthetics\u2019 rather than us sweaty tennis players.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSurely there\u2019s space for both WAGs and female tennis players but I feel like we always get left out.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Osaka\u2019s power move, players are back in.<\/p>\n

In her Nike attire, a swooping peach, pink and black tribute to Serena Williams, with a hint of jet set Pucci, world number one Aryna Sabalenka announced a lucrative collaboration with US jewellery brand Material Good on social media.<\/p>\n

Sports brands are also reaping the rewards from highlighting the personal taste of their ambassadors.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe don\u2019t have specific sales numbers that we can give but this year has already doubled versus the prior year,\u201d says Jeff McAdams, New Balance vice president, global marketing, immediately following Gauff\u2019s first round defeat of Kamilla Rakhimova.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have an athlete that challenges you the way that Coco does, there\u2019s no better gift, right?\u201d says Evan Zeder, New Balance director of sports marketing. \u201cShe knows that she\u2019s going to be under the lights in the biggest stages around the world, in the most fashion forward cities in the world, and she wants to make sure that she\u2019s shining her brightest on those stages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time for the male players to catch up. Italian Jannik Sinner and US player Reilly Opelka may have double-faulted with murky brown on brown and olive ensembles that looked like uniforms from the Australian Wildlife Sanctuary, better suited to Robert Irwin.<\/p>\n

Opelka\u2019s brown polo shirt sits at the luxury end of tennis attire, costing $635. Surely for that much money you can add a hat with a veil.<\/p>\n

\"JannikJannik Sinner in Nike and Reilly Opelka in Sease at the Australian Open.Getty Images<\/p>\n

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