London (AFP) - Japan’s Naomi Osaka made a spectacular entrance at Wimbledon on Monday as she arrived on court in a kimono-inspired dress.

Osaka has become known for wearing flamboyant outfits before starting her matches and the four-time Grand Slam champion’s Wimbledon costume was eagerly-awaited.

With fans and photographers crowded around Court Three prior to her Wimbledon first-round match against France’s Elsa Jacquemot, Osaka didn’t disappoint.

To match the All England Club’s strict all-white dress code, the 28-year-old wore a kimono-style ceremonial dress decorated with embroidered cranes and cherry blossom.

She paired the white outfit with a traditional kanzashi hair ornament featuring white flowers before removing both to reveal a white Nike dress.

While much more conventional, the dress is inspired by kirigami, the Japanese art of paper cutting.

Osaka has worked with a range of fashion designers on her outfits, going for a jellyfish-modelled look at the Australian Open dedicated to her daughter Shai and a gold dress inspired by the Eiffel Tower at the French Open.

For Wimbledon, the former world number one collaborated with Japanese designer Hana Yagi, posting a video accompanied by the caption: “Culture”.

Osaka revealed she had the idea for the outfit after watching the Quentin Tarantino film Kill Bill.

“I think about my cultures, my heritage, which is Japanese and Haitian. Then if I dive deeper into like Japanese culture, I think about the most iconic silhouette, which for me is a kimono,” she said.

“I was just thinking about my favourite movies also. I love Kill Bill. I remembered absolutely falling in love with Lucy Liu’s character. She has an all-white kimono, and I remember thinking that was really cool and amazing.

“Then it just kind of went from there. It was like my interpretation of that while also paying a lot of respect and love to Japan.”

- ‘What happens if I stain it?’ -

Osaka’s costume was the talk of the Wimbledon locker room as she prepared to go on court.

“I got asked if I only have one, because it’s all white, and what happens if I stain it. She was like, If you stain it, do you have to, like, dye it after that?,” Osaka said.

“Some people were like, Is it against the rules if you dye it, and then is that considered not wearing all white? Because I am taking it off and stuff. A lot of people had a lot of different interesting questions.”

Osaka admitted wearing such a headline-grabbing outfit put pressure on her to follow up with the victory.

“It’s so funny to be at Wimbledon, like talking about clothes. I wouldn’t say it eases my nerves to wear these outfits because a little part of my mind wants to do well so I can continue wearing them,” she said.

“Obviously, like for the French Open, you don’t want to wear a ball gown and lose in the first round. That does cross my mind a little bit.

“I also feel like I’m old enough to I guess just, like, push through it. Also if it entertains people, it entertains people.”