Tennis style icon Naomi Osaka has no plans to try for one-upmanship in the informal fashion stakes at Roland Garros.

The former world No. 1 from Japan has sometimes made more news with her style choices than her racquet, especially after taking time off several seasons ago to have a child.

But Osaka has run against the traditional tennis grain with some of her outfits, which included an exo-skeleton ensemble at January’s Australian Open, where she walked onto court for her opening match wearing a large hat, veil, and carrying a parasol combination and wearing a pair of pleated pants..

The clothing was discarded before the start revealing a tennis dress, with the quirky player explaining the get-up was inspired by “the jellyfish, then butterflies, which ties back to the butterfly moment I had here a long time ago, in 2021,” 

The world No. 16 also put on a fashion show at the spring Met Gala in New York, sporting a wedding dress-style garment combined with another huge hat..

For Osaka, it’s just another day in the office, but she said nothing special is planned when Roland Garros kicks of on Sunday in Paris.

“I don’t talk a lot, so that way I can talk through my clothes,” she said on Saturday prior to the start of the year’s second major.

“That means I can be as loud with colors or patterns or
fabric as I want.

“I think that’s the fun part.. I feel we lost that a little in tennis. I grew up with, you know, Serena’s and Venus’s (Williams) grand reveals (included beaded hair and catsuits on court).

“I know there are some kids or some people who are  similar to me that hopefully feel that same way about my outfits. 

“But, yeah, I am a little dramatic when it comes to my fashion sense.”

French hopes at Roland Garros took a battering on Saturday as national No. 1 Arthur Fils withdrew from the Sunday start of the Grand Slam with a hip injury.

The ATP No. 19 who won the Barcelona title a month ago but had to retire recently in Rome after only four games, said he is unsure of his actual health situation.

“In Rome I felt a little bit (of pain) around the hip. After an exam, everything were looking pretty fine, but still a lot of pain.

“I was not able to practice for the last two weeks.:

The French hope said that a Saturday training session showed him he would be unable to front up for the Sunday start.

“I will not be fit 100 per cent to play the tournament, and I will not take any risk like I did last year (back pain which kept him out for eight months).

“I don’t want to be stupid, you know.”

The 21-year-old with four ATP titles managed the third round here a year ago, then was able to play just two matches until his injury return in February.”It’s just pain bothering me. When I step on the court, it’s just here. It’s never going away.

“If this was the the last tournament of my life, I would have played. But I have 10, 15 more years,”

Fils said his current injury is not the same as his 2025 back problems.

“It’s this (lower back or hip) area that bothering me since couple of weeks, but

I can’t say it now, because I don’t even know myself.”

Taylor Fritz on Friday reinforced his call for more Grand Slam prize money to players as the protest over splitting up the spoils at the majors heats up.

The American world No. 5 said that while serious boycott talk is not yet in the air, he would not be surprised to see tensions rise at the current French Open which begins on Sunday.

Players are seeking an increase to 22 per cent of takings at the four majors instead of the current 15 per cent – laughably low by international sporting business standards.

“Something does have to change if we are ignored, so that’s a conversation to have, I think,” Fritz said.

“Right now I’m not ready to start tossing that (boycott) around, because I want to really mean it if I’m going to say it.”

Currently, top 10 competitors are limiting their interviews – especially with television – to a maximum 15 minutes, time which also includes the much more numerous print media.

The money issues boiled over last week at the Rome Masters, with world no. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka in solid support of their peers.

“It’s not about wanting more money. It’s about just wanting what’s fair,” Fritz told reporters in Paris.

“And as the tournaments make more money, we obviously want to see the revenue shared back to the players reflect that.

“I think obviously when it’s going the opposite direction and going down, it’s disappointing to see.

“We have been pretty patient and mild with, I’d say, our requests.

“All of us feel it’s a bit disrespectful to just be ignored when the sport is the healthiest, when I think there is a very fair partnership and open dialogue between the players and the tournaments.”

The current situation in Paris could be heading for a clash,with TD and former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo saying the event “would not budge” on the prize money issue.