Naomi Osaka has turned her return to the 2026 US Open into the tournament's defining fashion story. Ahead of her August 31 first-round match against Anastasia Zakharova at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Osaka walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium in a custom piece by Who Decides War, commissioned through her new stylist Law Roach, the image architect best known for his work with Zendaya. Built in roughly 30 hours according to the label's co-founders Téla D'Amore and Ev Bravado, the walk-on look paired a heavyweight French terry hoodie with a tulle ballgown skirt detailed with newspaper clippings and imagery referencing milestones from Osaka's career.
Once she was ready to play, Osaka shed the piece to reveal her match-day Nike kit: an all-black tank top and metallic silver mini skirt, styled with cornrows, a black headband and arm sleeves, and the Nike GP Challenge 1.5 "Naomi Osaka" sneaker in black and Metallic Silver. Osaka told reporters the entire look was built as a tribute to NBA legend Allen Iverson, saying Nike had pointed her toward a basketball-inspired theme for the tournament and she'd decided to lean in fully, calling Iverson someone who "shifted the way NBA players dress" and reshaped conversations around self-expression in sports.
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
Carlos Alcaraz supplied the tournament's biggest men's fashion moment. Returning after roughly four months away from competition with a wrist injury, the defending champion opened his campaign against Roman Safiullin in a full Travis Scott x Nike kit, marking Cactus Jack's first major tennis collaboration. The "Cactus Court" collection dressed Alcaraz head to toe in a brown-and-white gradient tank top and shorts, with the label's signature reverse Nike Swoosh carried through his headband and socks, alongside the unreleased Travis Scott x Nike Zoom Vapor 12 Tennis HC sneaker.
He wore a light brown Nike headband to hold back the longer hair he grew out during his injury layoff — the same accessory he'd debuted the week prior in a purple-and-orange, Knicks-inspired NikeCourt Slam kit worn during mixed doubles play alongside Serena Williams. Travis Scott watched from Alcaraz's player box in a matching outfit. Alcaraz won his return match in straight sets, and the Cactus Jack x Carlos Alcaraz Performance Collection launched the same day at a pop-up on Chrystie Street in New York, ahead of a wider online release; the sneaker is expected to see a broader Fall 2026 launch priced at $170.
Carlos Alcaraz secures U.S. Open victory and changes into the Travis Scott x Nike Air Force 1 🔥
— Complex Sneakers (@ComplexSneakers) August 31, 2026
📸: Getty pic.twitter.com/tSjRbIW3sr
Aryna Sabalenka took a different route, leaning into fine jewelry rather than a full apparel collaboration. During her first-round win over Colombia's Camila Osorio, she paired a sheer, scoopneck mesh Nike dress over an orange sports bra and shorts with a suite of Material Good jewelry — a handcrafted 18-karat gold necklace, bracelet and drop earrings totaling more than 127 carats of sapphire, tourmaline, garnet, zircon, spinel, chrysoberyl and tanzanite.
The necklace alone carries an estimated $110,000 price tag, putting the full three-piece suite at roughly $330,000. For her second-round match, Sabalenka returned in another sheer mesh dress, this time in black layered over a matching black sports bra and briefs, continuing what's become a recurring, headline-grabbing wardrobe choice through the tournament's early rounds.
Aryna Sabalenka spoke about the jewelry she's wearing after getting her 15th straight win at U.S. Open
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) September 3, 2026
"It's 100% inspired by New York. It's colorful. Bold. Fun. It's vintage looking. Different shapes, different stones. Literally I feel like it describes New York perfectly." ❤️ pic.twitter.com/xKjURjSTzI
Taylor Townsend, meanwhile, is working through a five-outfit custom wardrobe for the tournament designed by costume designer Anthony Lattimore and stylist J., with the first look debuting the same day as Osaka's return.
Together, the looks reflect a tournament where on-court dressing is being treated with the same intentionality as a red carpet — custom walk-on pieces, streetwear collaborations and statement jewelry all factoring into a player's presentation before a single point is played. With the tournament running through September 13, additional custom kits and collaborations are expected as the draw advances.
