Naomi Osaka’s extravagant jellyfish and butterfly-inspired walk-on ensemble has Aryna Sabalenka thinking.
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Quite the extrovert, world No.1 Sabalenka thinks it’s about time she too ups the ante for her Rod Laver Arena entrance.
While there won’t be any mid-tournament tweaks to the two-time Australian Open champion’s kit this year, rest assured she already has 2027 in mind.
“That’s why it’s so beautiful that you can feel free and go and show yourself, show your personality,” Sabalenka said.
“I think that was a perfect fit of [Osaka’s] personality, her culture, a lot of things. That was pretty cool … We are working on it, but I don’t know. I think I would be more like classy entrance. Maybe … long coat.
“I was fantasising, trying to work it out, but not good enough yet. But I’ll come up with something cool next year, for sure.”
The top seed doesn’t have a great deal of time up her sleeve to design flamboyant walk-on outfits right now anyway, given her focus is fixed firmly on recapturing the trophy that she relinquished in last year’s final.
In the third round on Friday, Sabalenka meets Austria’s Anastasia Potapova, a player she has beaten twice without conceding more than two games a set.
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“When you go against the top-ranking player, you have nothing to lose so you play more free so they always bring the best battle, which I love,” she said.
“It’s a great challenge for me. I look at each match as a new match, new opportunity. I have also been working really hard. For me, doesn’t matter what was in the past.”
