Naomi Osaka brought her ‘fashion show’ to Wimbledon as the Japanese star walked out for opening round clash in a stunning kimono outfit, inspired by Lucy Liu's character from Kill Bill, and later teased that there's even more to come. Wimbledon’s strict clothing rules means the Japanese star can only wear white but that didn’t stop her from making another grand entrance for her match with Elsa Jacquemot. The crowd on Court 3 screamed in delight as Osaka made her way on to the grass in her outfit that also paid tribute to traditional Japanese ceremonial dress. Tokyo-based designer Hana Yagi also took inspiration from kirigami, the Japanese art of paper cutting. Osaka sported the custom white outfit, covered with embroidered cranes and cheery blossom, both enduring symbols of Japanese culture, with bell-shaped sleeves, an obi belt, and a trailing tule bow. 'When I think about Wimbledon, it's obviously the all white,’ said Osaka after her 6-1 7-5 victory. 'It's the oldest tournament, right? Then there's obviously the tradition of it all. 'When I think about that, I think about my cultures, my heritage, which is Japanese and Haitian.

Then if I dive deeper into like Japanese culture, I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is a kimono. You don't have to see the colour of a kimono to know that it is a kimono. ‘I was also thinking about my favourite movies. I love Kill Bill. I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu's character. She has an all-white kimono, and I remember thinking that was really cool and amazing. Then it just kind of went from there. It was like my interpretation of that while also paying a lot of respect and love to Japan.

‘The starting point was the idea of “Evolving Ceremony”,’ Yagi told Vogue. ‘The garment is constructed from vintage shiromuku (traditional Japanese bridal garments), kimono and wedding dresses – ceremonial garments originally created to mark important moments in people’s lives.’ Osaka finished the outfit with a kanzashi hair ornament, historically worn by geisha, and Mikimoto jewellery from the famous Japanese luxury pearl brand. After shaking hands with Jacquemot, she walked over to her chair and removed the outfit, created in detachable layers, to reveal a white Nike match dress that also included matching embroidery. 'I got asked if I only have one, because it's all white, and what happens if I stain it,' added Osaka.

'They were like, If you stain it, do you have to, like, dye it after that? Some people were asking is it against the rules if you dye it, and then is that considered not wearing all white? Because I am taking it off and stuff.' Wimbledon’s departing chief executive Sally Bolton had earlier insisted there had been no concerns that Osaka might push the limits of what’s allowed. ‘We're very relaxed, so long as it meets the all-white dress code,’ she said just a few hours before Osaka took to the court.

‘I haven't been in any conversations with her (Osaka) about what she wears, but as any of our athletes coming onto court, they just simply need to follow the all-white dress codes. I don't think we've got any concerns that that will be an issue.’ Osaka’s bold entrance comes just weeks after her sparkling gold ‘Eiffel Tower’ dress and various walk-on outfits at the French Open sparked accusations from her opponent that she was prioritising fashion over tennis. Osaka, who earns £7.5million a year in her deal with Nike, refused to back down and strode on to court in Paris with a range of upcycled jackets and skirts made from her old match outfits over her gold dress.

The 28-year-old wore a matching sequinned jacket and skirt over her dress for her fourth-round defeat to Aryna Sabalenka, the first women’s match in three years to be scheduled for the prestigious evening slot on Court Philippe-Chatrier, having entered for the previous two rounds with ivory and coffee trains attached to the back of her outfit. Osaka was accused of not coming to Roland Garros ‘to play tennis’ by her first-round opponent Laura Siegemund after arriving for her opening match in a flowing black skirt and corset made from her old Nike outfits before unveiling the shimmering gold dress, which the Japanese star said she thought looked like the famous French monument at night. The black corset and skirt was designed by couturier Kevin Garmanier, who works with upcycled materials. The pleated black skirt was made using the inner layers of one of her jackets while her old tennis skirts and dresses were also cut up and reused. The outfit was then covered in hundreds of hand-applied crystals. 'I came here to play tennis, not to put on a fashion show,' Siegemund had told TNT Sports. 'And if others want to put on a fashion show, then they should go ahead and do it.

Jacquemot had no such issues. ‘I think it shows her personality,’ she said after her 6-1 7-5 defeat. ‘Honestly, it doesn’t bother me at all. Her outfits are beautiful, so it’s great. ‘It’s beautiful, honestly, and you can tell a lot of thought went into it. It’s all about the details and the little touches.’ Her second-round opponent in Paris, Donna Vekic, took a similar view. ‘Some people take tennis way too seriously,’ she said. ‘Relax, it’s just an outfit. Ithink it’s good that she’s doing different things, expressing herself through fashion. Whether it’s good or bad, that’s a different thing, it’s fashion.’ Osaka is hugely into her fashion and even turned heads at this year’s Met Gala with a ‘skin-shedding’ performance on the entrance steps where she wore a white coat covered in red feathers to resemble blood before removing it to reveal a blood-red and crystalled gown designed to look like exposed muscle, tendon and sinew. 'It's just fun to watch designers work, especially when there is an already pre-existing thing that they have to design around,' said Osaka, who admitted she brought back-up dresses to Roland Garros just in case as she was worried her golden Nike outfit might blind spectators. 'When I first saw the dress in real life, I felt like I looked like the Eiffel Tower at night-time when it's sparkling,' she said. 'And then I actually got a little worried, because when the sun hits the dress, it reflects a lot. I was a little scared that the umpire was going to kick me off the court.' 'Sometimes people say athletes in show business or entertainers or whatever,' said Osaka. 'I feel like, for me, Grand Slam walk-ons are the only time that I possibly feel like I'm an entertainer.' Osaka also confirmed she had further outfits lined up for future rounds at Wimbledon. 'I like to shake things up, I try to mix it up every round,' she said.

That's totally fine with me.’ Jacquemot had no such issues. ‘I think it shows her personality,’ she said after her 6-1 7-5 defeat. ‘Honestly, it doesn’t bother me at all. Her outfits are beautiful, so it’s great. ‘It’s beautiful, honestly, and you can tell a lot of thought went into it. It’s all about the details and the little touches.’ Her second-round opponent in Paris, Donna Vekic, took a similar view. ‘Some people take tennis way too seriously,’ she said. ‘Relax, it’s just an outfit. Ithink it’s good that she’s doing different things, expressing herself through fashion. Whether it’s good or bad, that’s a different thing, it’s fashion.’ Osaka is renowned for catwalk entrances at Grand Slams and famously wore a jellyfish-inspired outfit at the Australian Open in January. Osaka arrived at the Rod Laver Arena with a wide-brimmed hat with a white veil and parasol before warming up in a frilled jacket and dress that looked like tentacles. At Indian Wells, she arrived on court with tribal-inspired jewellery over her lips, nose and ears alongside a black mesh and cheetah-print Nike dress, trainers and jacket.