Naomi Osaka had lots of people talking about her outfits at Wimbledon this year.
Osaka reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals this year, which was her best ever result at the grass court major.
However, one of the biggest talking points was actually her unique kimono outfit, which she wore on court, as Osaka continues her tradition of wearing custom attire for the Grand Slam tournaments this year.
Osaka has received some backlash for her outfits, and now former Grand Slam finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova has given her verdict on the former world number one’s choices.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova claims Naomi Osaka ‘definitely wants attention’
Pavlyuchenkova spoke to Tennis Bolshe about a number of topics, where she brought up Osaka’s comments about not enjoying attention.
The 2021 Roland Garros runner-up claimed Osaka can no longer say this, but Pavlyuchenkova admitted she was a fan of her style choices.
“She definitely wants attention, because I think when you go out in such outfits, you can’t say later no, no, I don’t need attention,” said Pavlyuchenkova.
“Her results have been much better now than before, but nevertheless [when] she still doesn’t reach semi-finals or even the second week, yet people still talk about her.
“I respect her for that and whoever is on her team, who came up with that or maybe she did it herself, because all they talk about is her outfit, even when she only played in the first round.
“The outfits are…I like things like that and I think the outfits are really cool. I think you need to have balls to go out in something like that, because I remember I wore a denim skirt and denim jacket to play in Rome last year and [Maria] Sakkari told me in the locker room ‘It looks cool, but I couldn’t go out like that’. So I respect her for that.”
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Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova suggests Aryna Sabalenka deserves custom outfits like Naomi Osaka
Osaka beat Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon this year, and Pavlyuchenkova has also made a comment about the current world number one’s outfits.
Sabalenka also wears Nike on court, but has not been wearing custom outfits like Osaka.
This is something that Pavlyuchenkova has called out, as she suggested that Sabalenka deserves more than what she is currently getting.
“Why doesn’t Nike do something like that, something original for Sabalenka?” questioned Pavlyuchenkova. “She’s world number one, why does she play in what feels like ordinary kits when she deserves much better?
“…Yeah, she’s charismatic, vibrant, so I don’t know why there’s such a special treatment for Osaka and not for Sabalenka in terms of outfits. Maybe there’s some kind of agreement.”
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Pavlyuchenkova also spoke about Sabalenka’s recent form, as she responded when asked if she feels like the Belarusian is being distracted by off-court things.
“Yes, it seems like it,” answered Pavlyuchenkova. “What’s confusing is that right after the engagement [to Georgios Frangulis], she won the Sunshine Double – Indian Wells and Miami. So maybe it doesn’t distract her, she got inspired by the engagement and started winning.
“The results are surprising. I’m a fan of Aryna and her game, and it seemed like no one was even close to her. Then there are these dips, especially at Slams. It’s tough.
“Probably, as everyone noticed, she gets very emotional during the match. She had a psychologist, then she didn’t, now she seems to be working with one again.
“Of course, it’s hard not to get distracted. There’s a lot of attention, sponsor duties, but as a girl I understand them. I mean engagement, sponsors, you want a photo shoot, you want to look beautiful, but you still need to work hard and play.”
