Naomi Osaka lost for words by $20M-worth A$AP Rocky's 'Cruella'-like Vogue photoshoot
Naomi Osaka has shared footage from an A$AP Rocky photoshoot set up by stylist Law Roach for Vogue. Former World No. 1 Osaka was fascinated by the images, which feature the American rapper, who is worth $20 million (according to celebritynetworth.com) dressed as the iconic dog knapper Cruella De Vil. Osaka also name-checked the well-known stylist Law Roach, who was involved in setting up the shoot.
Osaka and Roach have worked together often, collaborating on ad campaigns for the likes of Louis Vuitton and Tag Heuer, and for Japanese magazines like i-D Japan. Roach has also helped Osaka with social projects, such as Black Lives Matter, and to raise awareness about police brutality.
Naomi Osaka reposted Roach's image of A$AP Rocky in character, replete with two dalmatians, followed by her own caption, which read:
"No, this is insane"
Osaka then followed the image with a still picture of Cruella De Vil from the famous movie 101 Dalmatians that made her such a polarizing character. In the movie, De Vil steals the dalmatians to make a unique fur coat for her fashion empire. Osaka commented on this image, simply writing:
"It was giving Cruella and I love it."
Osaka, a four-time Major champion, is clambering back up the rankings after a difficult couple of years. The WTA currently ranks her at No. 55, but an in-form Osaka is a much better player than that.
Naomi Osaka is fighting her way back to tournament contention
An abdominal strain disrupted Naomi Osaka's start to the year - she had to withdraw from her third-round match at the Australian Open against Belinda Bencic, and then she missed the Abu Dhabi Open to rest. She got fit for Indian Wells but was dumped out of the tournament in the first round by Camila Osorio.
Osaka performed well in Miami, managing three straight wins, including a hard-fought 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-4 comeback victory over Hailey Baptiste. She lost to Jasmine Paolini in the next round. In her post-match interview, per WTA Tennis, she welcomed the return to form:
“This year I’ve played already a couple scrappy matches. I think the fight kind of got me over it. Then I realized, like, you need to play a lot of matches like that to be I guess one of the great ones. So I’m hoping that I can continue.”
Naomi Osaka is expected to take heart from her Miami showing as she approaches the European summer with confidence. Osaka has accepted a wild card into the WTA 250 Open de Rouen, and will hope to continue her progress there.