Tennis Phenomenon 'Transforms' When She Steps On Court
One of the biggest innovations in storytelling in manga and anime has been the advent of magical girl series. First developed by Fujio Akatsuka's Himitsu no Akko-chan in 1962, the genre has seen radical changes over the years: magical schoolgirls fighting in Naoko Takeuchi's Sailor Moon in 1992 and more adult-themed stories with Puella Magi Madoka Magica in 2011. It's no surprise, by the way, that people have been inspired by the genre. One of them is women's tennis star Naomi Osaka, as shown by her outfit for the 2024 US Open.
Image via inflact.com
©Naomi Osaka
Osaka posted a photo of herself in a magical girl-inspired outfit on Instagram on August 26. The photo features Osaka in a black pleated dress with an oversized white ribbon on the back. The tennis star looks like she's playing characters like Sailor Moon or, more recently, Cure Yum Yum from Delicious Party Precure.
Osaka's sponsor Nike posted a press release about her US Open outfit on August 25. In the press release, Osaka further explained her outfit:
The inspiration for the look for me—and this might be a Japanese term—was the feeling of being like a ‘magical girl’ on court… There’s a transformational moment for me when I step on court and play and it’s so much fun, so wanting everyone who sees the outfit to be able to connect with that feeling was a really big motivation for me.
Nike's press release only featured Osaka in a black outfit in her Instagram post. However, in her Aug. 27 match against No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko, Osaka revealed a pale green, almost minty magical girl dress. The US Open Tennis X (formerly Twitter) account posted a video of her debut on Aug. 27. The US Open Tennis account also picked up a small detail about Osaka's outfit that wasn't mentioned in Nike's press release in a follow-up post: the bows on the back of Osaka's shoes.
Hail Queen of Fashion, @naomiosaka 🎀 pic.twitter.com/7ngPZLOFdE
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2024
Evergreen 💚 pic.twitter.com/4QhFwqTAep
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2024
Like the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners after their anime-themed collaboration on August 28, Naomi Osaka also received anime attention, winning her first match 6-3, 6-2. However, she lost to Karolína Muchová in the second round on August 29.
Sources: Nike, Noami Osaka's Instagram, US Open Tournament X/Twitter account (link 2), website, Today
