“Ripped to Shreds” is a biweekly column by Jaxon Havens about fashion politics.
With red crystal roses cascading down her braided ponytail, Naomi Osaka stepped onto the court in the first round of women’s singles at the 2025 US Open. The four-time Grand Slam Champion delights in whimsical apparel on the court, making use of novel accents like frills and oversized bows. Returning this season, five years after her latest US Open win, her fashion is no less fantastical. Osaka’s outfits are prepared in collaboration with Nike, and they have stolen the show by mixing flower motifs and brilliant rhinestones. Flower accents also adorned her red Nike shoes, and upon removing her ponytail to begin the match, Osaka revealed smaller crystal accents that remained in her hair through the match. In the quarter-finals, Osaka once again had 3D-printed flowers–this time connected to a pair of blinged-out headphones, complementing her stoned purple jacket in a monochromatic pairing.
Beyond the crystal accents and bubble skirts adorning her own body, Osaka’s accessorization with sparkly charms, 3D-printed in the image of PopMart’s famous “Labubu” dolls by NYC’s A-Morir Studio, has been notable. Naming the charms after famous tennis players like Arthur Ashe, Althea Gibson, and Andre Agassi, Osaka has continued to add to her own legacy as an icon in the tennis world. Addressing a reporter after her first round, Osaka gleefully held up a crystal-covered “Lablingbling” and announced,
“Her name is Billie Jean Bling.”
The fashion display at this year’s US Open does not end with Osaka. American player Taylor Townsend beat Jelena Ostapenko (7-5, 6-1) in a black tennis dress with a graphic flame print across the hem of her skirt. On her tank sits a “TT” logo, that of a label Townsend herself has been developing. Considering the many sponsorships of players with luxury brands and fashion labels, it is refreshing to think of a player using the tournament as an opportunity for entrepreneurship.
That is to say, there are many opportunities for fashion and expression at the US Open. AP News, in their article, “Tennis fashion is exploding at the US Open. Luxury brands want in,” emphasizes that luxury brands have been showing out at this year’s Open. Several athletes have become brand ambassadors, such as Lorenzo Musetti with Bottega Veneta, and Coco Gauff with Miu Miu x New Balance.
This display of personal style at the US Open is likely in contradiction with the traditional image of “tennis” in the public consciousness, and there have been several moments where personal style and the rules of the sport come into conflict. This is because the rules around dress vary severely by the event.
The “Wimbledon white” rules are the most notorious. The Wimbledon website lays out several current rules including that attire must be almost completely white, strictly without room for “off white” or cream. Colored panels are limited to trims no wider than one centimeter. The rules even insist that medical supports “should be white if possible.” This has led to several clashes over dress code violations throughout the years. One player, Mihaela Buzarnescu, even had to borrow a white bra from her coach in 2022 due to the strict rule against colored undergarments. The strictness on undershorts was only relaxed in 2023, in response to concerns from players about menstruation, but the rule has yet to be changed for other garments.
Why should Wimbledon be all white? The easy answer is tradition. But, what is so important about this tradition anyway? It oozes elitism and pretentiousness, but the game of tennis has evolved into a multi-million dollar industry. Players’ ability to rise in the ranks depends heavily on sponsors’ willingness to lay out major funding. It doesn’t need any extra implicit cultural coding. If I wanted to see that much white, I would go to Burning Man. Ironically, this “age old” practice is not even half the age of the competition itself.
The use of white at Wimbledon actually began as a Victorian era sweat-hiding custom—if players wore white, their sweat looked less obvious and they could save face. But, notable variations from this custom existed, and it did not formally become a rule until 1963. To provide contrast, the current head of Wimbledon’s administrative body, Debbie Jevans, was born in 1960. The spirit of the custom itself was a pragmatic choice about controlling visible perspiration, but in the era of moisture-wicking fabrics, this reason is moot. Wimbledon white has become a symbol of stuffiness. It evokes the “good old days” of the landed gentry playing tennis as a performance of leisure. It’s about a mythos of “tradition,” but the codification itself is grossly contemporary.
Traditional or not, these archaic rules have ignited creative takes on spicing up Wimbledon white. In 2011, Bethanie Mattek-Sands entered the court in a white fringe jacket with several half-cut white tennis balls and silver spikes lining the arms. It was an abomination, but it was something new. The jacket resembled something one would see from Elton John Animorph-ing into the Michelin Man, but luckily for everyone watching, she took it off soon after her entrance.
In 2008, Serena Williams also made an iconic choice to wear a white trench coat over her gear. This made for a clean silhouette that still felt fresh, accented by a white headband and drop-hoop earrings. But Williams’ controversial use of a catsuit 10 years later provides another example of the conflict between tradition and expression. A “catsuit” is a one-piece, similar to a jumpsuit, but specifically form-fitting and tight.” Serena Williams donned a black catsuit with a bright red waistband for the 2018 French Open, drawing ire from French Tennis President Bernard Giudicelli, who strongly opposed the garment. Giudicelli banned the garment soon after, stating, “One must respect the game and the place.”
This notion of respect should be thoroughly criticized. The garment completely covered Williams’ body, form-fitting in a way not unlike the uniforms of other athletes like runners and swimmers. While Giudicelli claimed that the French Open would not have a dress code as strict as that of Wimbledon, it is worth noting that in 1985, Anne White wore an all-white catsuit at Wimbledon. White’s outfit was also considered controversial, but the “catsuit” itself is nothing new. Williams had even worn a similar short-length catsuit in 2002 at the US Open.
Perhaps even more pressing, Williams’ 2018 catsuit was designed in order to help prevent blood clots, which she had struggled with after giving birth to her daughter, Alexis. Acting as a compression garment, the catsuit applies pressure to covered areas of the body, allowing for smoother transport of blood to the heart. There is a clear medical impetus for this kind of garment, not only for Williams, but for any athlete concerned about the risk of a pulmonary embolism. To position the catsuit as a garment that takes away from the “respect” of the French Open is to hypersexualize women’s bodies while ignoring medical science and genuine health concerns.
Later that year, Williams wore a black tutu in her first round of the US Open. Seeing her outfits in dialogue with the rule changes, NPR’s Rachel Martin discussed this choice as being a “rebuke” to Giudicelli. Martin discusses the ban as an overtly political decision by the French Tennis Federation president, in spite of the French Open traditionally being, like the US Open, much more flexible with their rules around dress. Nonetheless, Williams found a way to lean into the joy of human expression through her clothes.
Evidently, the rules are adjustable. They vary by venue, by year, and by player. At the US Open this year, the creativity of Osaka, Townsend, and others was on full display. Not all venues offer the same kind of freedom to show a little sparkle, but they ought to. The Open’s finals on Sept. 7 mean another year before the next US Open, but until then, we can hope that today’s fashion icons in the tennis world continue to serve vibrant looks on the court.
