Naomi Osaka used her US Open tunnel walk to pay direct tribute to Allen Iverson, arriving at Arthur Ashe Stadium on August 31 in a custom look built around the Philadelphia 76ers legend's signature style. The outfit was designed by Who Decides War and overseen by stylist Law Roach, who is also known for his work with Zendaya.
Osaka entered the stadium ahead of her first-round match against Anastasia Zakharova wearing a hooded, asymmetrical gray burnout tunic layered over a flowing white tulle skirt. The hood's exterior featured patchwork panels printed with press clippings referencing her own tennis career, a detail that tied the Iverson homage to her personal history in the sport. Once she removed the hood, the look underneath revealed the more literal references: her hair worked into cornrows beneath an athletic headband, a black sleeve on one arm and a contrasting sweatband on the other, echoing the black-and-red color scheme Iverson wore with the 76ers.
Naomi Osaka's Allen Iverson inspired look for the 2026 US Open has so many details.
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 1, 2026
Whether you love it or hate it, no one is doing fashion in tennis like her.
pic.twitter.com/50PUF7F30X
Osaka confirmed the inspiration herself after her straight-sets win. "It's my, I guess, my tribute to Iverson. I really like him a lot," she said, adding that a request from Nike to lean into a basketball theme shaped the concept. She had previewed the tribute days earlier, wearing a T-shirt printed with an Iverson SLAM magazine cover to her pre-tournament press conference, where she called him a "trailblazer" and credited him with shifting how NBA players dressed both on and off the court.
Iverson, the No. 1 pick in the 1996 NBA Draft and the 2000-01 NBA Most Valuable Player, remains one of basketball's most referenced style figures, known for his cornrows, headbands and sleeve-and-armband combinations during his run with the 76ers, including the team's 2001 NBA Finals appearance. He responded to Osaka's look directly, writing that he was a "BIG FAN" and looking forward to meeting her.
Naomi Osaka on her appreciation for Allen Iverson, who inspired her fit at the US Open 🔥 pic.twitter.com/8ln3lkzxJf
— ESPN (@espn) September 1, 2026
The tribute continues a pattern for Osaka, who has treated her US Open entrances and other Grand Slam walk-ons as staged fashion statements this season, including a kimono-inspired look referencing her Japanese heritage at Wimbledon and a jellyfish-themed design at the Australian Open. The Iverson look stands apart from those references by pulling from athletic, rather than cultural or personal, source material, translating a specific basketball uniform silhouette into eveningwear-adjacent tailoring through the tulle skirt and tunic shaping.
The collaboration between Osaka, Roach and Who Decides War also marks a notable crossover point between tennis and streetwear design houses, with Roach's involvement placing the look within the same styling lineage as his red carpet work for Zendaya. Osaka went on to win her first-round match in straight sets, advancing further into the tournament with what several outlets have already flagged as one of the more talked-about entrances of this year's US Open.
