Naomi Osaka made her entrance at the 2026 US Open the only way Naomi Osaka knows how, with an outfit that became the story before she had hit a single ball.
The two-time US Open champion emerged from the tunnel at Arthur Ashe Stadium in a custom Who Decides War white gown covered in newspaper clippings from her career, hood up, moving slowly toward the baseline. Then she took it off.
Underneath: cornrows under an Allen Iverson-style headband, a sweatband on one arm, a sleeve on the other, a black and red ensemble matching Iverson's iconic 76ers colorway.
Nike had told her the US Open theme was basketball, given the New York Knicks winning the NBA championship in June. She heard basketball and said, in her own words: "You want basketball, I'll give you basketball."
She posted the look to Instagram with one word, "The Answer," Iverson's nickname, and then went out and beat Anastasia Zakharova 7-6, 7-6 in a first-round match that required a tiebreak in both sets.
Iverson, who she had never previously spoken to, saw it and responded on Instagram: "Wow, what a honor!! BIG FAN can't wait to meet you."
She called him a trailblazer who shifted the way athletes approach fashion. He called it an honor. Arthur Ashe himself would have appreciated all of it.