Tamaki Osaka, the mother of tennis star Naomi Osaka, made a rare public appearance at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Thursday, drawing attention during her daughter's practice session for the US Open.
Osaka's mother, a native of Japan, was noted for her distinctive fashion sense, wearing a red dress complemented by black opera-length gloves, oversized sunglasses, and glittering Nike Air Max Plus sneakers. This fashionable display echoed her daughter's own trendsetting appearances.
Naomi Osaka has previously showcased her mother's influence on her style. At Wimbledon, she appeared in an all-white, full-length kimono for her first-round match and later wore a floral dress with a sun hat and white gloves during her fourth-round win. Following the Wimbledon victory, Naomi Osaka acknowledged her mother's support, humorously stating in an on-court interview, "My mom's over there. She cooks a lot and I feel like her cooking is powering me. Mom, I would really appreciate another meal tonight. Thank you so much."
Tamaki met Leonard Francis in the 1990s when he was a college student visiting Japan. The couple moved to the U.S. in 2001, after the birth of their elder daughter, Mari, in 1997, with Naomi following a year later. Francis, inspired by the development of Venus and Serena Williams by their father Richard Williams, took on the role of teaching his daughters tennis.
Naomi Osaka, currently ranked No. 13 in the WTA singles rankings, reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon this year before falling to Karolina Muchova. Since then, she has advanced to the semifinals of the Mubadala DC Open and the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open. She enters the US Open with a 25-10 record for the year and is scheduled to play Anastasia Zakharova of Russia in the first round. A two-time US Open champion in 2018 and 2020, Osaka will be competing in the tournament with her mother present.