Naomi Osaka’s mother, Tamaki, made a rare public appearance on Thursday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, where she watched her daughter’s US Open practice session in a red dress, black opera-length gloves and glittery Nike Air Max Plus sneakers. The look stood out immediately, but the bigger surprise was simply seeing her there at all.
That is why the Naomi Osaka MOM outfit US Open search is landing now. Osaka is back in the run-up to a tournament she has won twice, and Tamaki’s appearance gave the moment an extra layer of attention before the first ball was struck. Osaka entered the US Open with a 25-10 record this year and was slated to face Anastasia Zakharova in the first round, making Thursday part of the final stretch before competition begins.
For Osaka, fashion has long been part of the public conversation around her match days. At Wimbledon in June, she walked in wearing an all-white, full-length kimono before a first-round win over Eli Jacquermot at the All England Club in London. In July, Tamaki was seen again during that run, this time in a flower-covered dress, a woven sun hat and white gloves, as Osaka went on to beat No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round and later reached the quarterfinals before losing to Karolina Muchova.
Osaka also put her mother at the center of her Wimbledon remarks after that Sabalenka win, telling the crowd, “My mom’s over there,” and adding that Tamaki cooks a lot and that her cooking is powering her. That makes Thursday’s appearance feel less like a routine family visit than a rare public step into a role Tamaki usually keeps out of sight. She was born in Japan, met Leonard Francis in the 1990s when he was a college student visiting Japan, and later moved to the US with him in 2001 after the birth of Mari in 1997 and Naomi a year later.
The contrast is what gives the moment its pull: Osaka remains one of the sport’s most visible style players, while Tamaki’s appearances are uncommon enough to draw a second look. Leonard Francis taught tennis to his daughters, and Osaka has continued to build form since Wimbledon, reaching the semifinals of the Mubadala DC Open and the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open. If Thursday was any indication, the focus in the days ahead will stay on Osaka’s tennis — and on whether her mother appears again before the tournament begins.
