Style Guide: Naomi Osaka clips her sakura-themed nails during Roland Garros defeat

PARIS, France—Another Grand Slam means another intricately designed kit from Naomi Osaka, who has previously vowed to treat every major like it’s her own personal Met Gala.

But while she made a memorable entrance at Roland Garros in an all-pink, cherry blossom-inspired ensemble, the rest of her Monday was one to forget—as the Japanese player bowed out in the first round against No. 10 seed Paula Badosa.

Read More: Naomi Osaka exits Roland Garros in the first round with a loss to Paula Badosa

“I feel like I learn little things from each match. I think I lost the tiebreaker in Rome, and I didn't lose the tiebreaker here,” Osaka tearfully reflected in her post-match press conference. “...Maybe the next match I play I'll learn little things from today.”

Japanese for ‘cherry blossom’, Osaka said her outfit was inspired by her country’s famous sakura season—the second of four flower-inspired kits she has created for each of this year’s Grand Slams. At the Australian Open, she channeled the Melbourne sun at the ‘Happy Slam’ with a sunflower-powered golden yellow kit.

In Paris, it was all about the details as Osaka stepped out on Court Philippe-Chatrier in a pastel pink dress with a layered skirt and contrasting cherry-red high neckline. She wore a matching red cropped varsity jacket during the warmup, and completed the look with sakura-pink Nike GP Challenge 1 “Osaka” shoes—which she teased on Instagram last week.

Read More: Naomi Osaka unveils cherry blossom-inspired shoe for Roland Garros

“The shoes are sakura-themed, which is I guess just in time for spring, which is sakura season,” the four-time Grand Slam winner explained in Paris. “It follows the flower story that we have throughout the year."

“I'm really excited about the kit, because I designed it. I don't know why Nike is letting me do this stuff!" she added, laughing. "I say this every Slam, but I think it's really adorable. I'm just excited.”

Osaka took the head-to-toe assignment seriously, with her hair in oversized pink clips shaped like cherry blossoms, as well as long pink nails embellished with flower details.

“I don't know if you can see from all the way over here, but I did my nails and they're sakura-themed too,” Osaka told Tennis.com during her pre-tournament press conference. “I'm really sticking to the flower story that we have.”

But on Monday against Badosa, those same long nails appeared to become a hazard for Osaka as the match went on.

After winning the opening set in a lopsided tiebreak, Osaka requested a medical time out to treat blisters on her hands. She also requested clippers from the physio and, in an unusual move, the former world No. 1 proceeded to trim down the tips of her nails to a more manageable length.

“Since Rome, I have had blisters on my hands,” she explained afterward. “I think it's like from the friction of clay, because I don't have blisters on any other surface. But I was kind of used to it, because I also had to ask for the physio in Rome.”

It’s not the first time a WTA player has given herself a mid-match makeover: Svetlana Kuznetsova famously requested scissors and chopped off her ponytail during a 2016 WTA Finals match because her hair kept hitting her face. That move worked, as the Russian ultimately rallied to victory.

But unfortunately for Osaka, her troubles only seemed to grow after giving herself an impromptu manicure. Having been toe-to-toe with Badosa for most of the first set, she struggled to get on the board as the Spaniard reeled off the next five games in a row for a 5-0 lead in the second. Osaka never fully recovered, as the No. 10 seed closed out a 6-7 (1), 6-1, 6-4 victory.

Badosa, former world No. 2 and a Roland Garros quarterfinalist in 2021, moved into the second round where she will face Elena-Gabriela Ruse.