It's more than just fashion for Naomi Osaka in Paris. She's into the French Open 4th round

Once again, Osaka wore a metallic gold bomber jacket over her sequined gold playing dress during her walk-on. But this time her outfit was offset by a tannish-gold colored train that stretched all the way down to the red clay on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

For her opening match, Osaka walked on in a ceremonial black skirt and sleeveless beaded bodice before revealing her gold dress, which she said reminded her of the Eiffel Tower sparkling at night. Then she had on the bomber jacket and an ivory-colored train for her second match.

“It’s a surprise every time,” Osaka said of her fashion choices.

“For me, it would be weirder to wear a normal tennis kit, almost, at this point. It’s the fun of it. For a long time, I didn’t have fun for a little bit. And you guys know that period of time in my life," Osaka added, referring to how in 2021 she withdrew from the French Open due to issues over anxiety and depression.

"Now I just want things to be fun, and I want to make it exciting for myself.”

Osaka's outfits are planned a year and a half in advance and require at least four fittings.

“We have so many fittings throughout the year because your weight can fluctuate or the fabric can change a little bit," she said. "There is a lot of effort that goes into it.”

For the seventh straight day of the tournament, it was hot and humid, with the temperature forecast to rise to 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit). The heat is expected to break for Sunday and the second week.

Midway through Osaka’s victory, a spectator was carried out of the stadium on a stretcher due to an apparent illness.

Sabalenka beat Daria Kasatkina 6-0, 7-5.

In the same half of the draw, defending champion Coco Gauff was playing 28th-seeded Anastasia Potapova.

Russia’s Diana Shnaider beat Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 7-5, 6-1 after Oliynykova accused her of being a propagandist for the war between their countries.

In men’s action, Felix Auger-Aliassime plays American opponent Brandon Nakashima. At No. 4, Auger-Aliassime is the highest-seeded player remaining in the top half of the draw after Jannik Sinner’s stunning defeat two days ago.

Also, 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame plays Alejandro Tabilo attempting to become the youngest man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Bjorn Borg was 16 in 1973.

Flavio Cobolli beat Learner Tien 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 and will next meet Zachary Svajda, who defeated Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3.

Svajda, an 85th-ranked American playing in the main draw at the French Open for the first time, had never been past the second round at a Grand Slam.

Organizers moved the small advertising boards at the back of the court to behind the line judges after complaints about safety. Turkish player Zeynep Sönmez had to retire from a doubles match after tripping over an advertising board on Friday.

AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire contributed to this report.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis