Naomi Osaka marked her return to the court with a victory at the BNP Paribas Open, also known as Indian Wells.
The 2018 champion made her first appearance since withdrawing at the Australian Open.
Osaka’s Leopard-Inspired Kit
Osaka stepped out for her opening match with Victoria Jiménez Kasintseva sporting a new look. She took to Stadium 1 in a leopard-inspired outfit.
The ensemble included ear and mouth accessories, matching sneakers, and a bag that incorporated the animal print into her custom logo.
The material on the dress was designed to shift colours depending on the light.
Osaka explained the inspiration behind the kit, referencing Naomi Campbell’s 2009 “Harper’s Bazaar” editorial and the California desert setting.
“Based on who I am, my leopard is more like a huntress, like I’m hunting something, there is something I want to go get,” she explained.
“Then we kind of morphed into the story of, like, there is desert, there is dunes, there is a leopard. Crazy, now we’re, like, Mad Max. Then we’re like, okay, huntress, hunting. There is the story of pursuing something, and then we just kind of built the world in there.”
Victory After Injury
The No. 16 seed defeated Jiménez Kasintseva 7-5, 6-2 after a tight opening set. Osaka’s appearance marked her first since the Australian Open, where she withdrew ahead of a scheduled third-round meeting with Maddison Inglis due to a left abdominal injury.
“I was really disappointed, because it’s something that I have done to myself before, and I feel like every year I go through that specific injury. Every year I can kind of, like, feel it starting to happen,” she reflected.
Having put an opening 2025 exit behind her, Osaka now looks to advance to the fourth round for the first time in seven years.