Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka were one of the most anticipated pairings participating in the US Open Mixed Madness event a week ahead of the Grand Slam. While the two did suffer a tough loss against the Taylor Fritz-Amanda Anisimova duo, Kyrgios and Osaka gave fans multiple reasons to cheer about during the encounter. One of the many things that impressed fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium was the coordinated uniforms that the two donned as a tribute to the late Kobe Bryant.
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Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka took tennis and basketball fans by surprise with their tribute to the Lakers legend. While the Aussie wore the franchise’s “Icon Edition” jersey with Kobe’s #8, Osaka had a slightly customized kit on. The “Black Mamba” jersey consisted of both Bryant’s jersey numbers – #24 on the back and #8 in the front.
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If it isn’t obvious enough, both the tennis stars are huge fans of the great NBA personality. In fact, in December 2023, Kyrgios and Osaka watched one of the Lakers’ games in LA together courtside and posed for pictures after the game. So this wasn’t the first time the duo teamed up to showcase their common love for the Lakers as well as Kobe, which is indeed genuine.
Naomi Osaka and Nick Kyrgios courtside at the LA Lakers game the other night pic.twitter.com/j2zOhdsGSI
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) December 7, 2023
They even paid their respect to Kobe after the Hall-Of-Famer died in the crash alongside his daughter Gigi Bryant. On the day (26th January 2020) of Bryant’s death, Kyrgios was participating at the Australian Open. He entered the Rod Laver Arena wearing Kobe’s jersey and was in tears.
Talking about the same, the Canberra native opened up about the influence that the 6ft 6” superstar had on his life.
“I never met Kobe but basketball’s practically my life, I watch it every day and I’ve been following it for as long as I remember … it’s tough, it’s horrible news.
If anything it motivated me (during the game). If you look at the things he stood for and what he wanted to be remembered by I felt like if anything it helped me tonight,” Nick said.
Missed the warm-up?@NickKyrgios paid homage to the late Kobe Bryant 8⃣#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/kTKniTJykw
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2020
Osaka paid her tribute to the legend by donning the jersey after winning the US Open 2020. The then-22-year-old also explained how she strived to be the best version of herself to make Bryant proud.
“I just want to be the type of person that he thought I was going to be. He thought I was going to be great, so hopefully, I will be great in the future.”@naomiosaka on Kobe Bryant’s belief in her pic.twitter.com/g0T9DwY9Ve
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 13, 2020
It was great to see the two players honor Kobe Bryant and pay their tribute on the biggest stage of the tennis world. With that, Osaka and Kyrgios showed that they have yet another similarity apart from being trailblazers and their broadcasting interests, as the 2018 US Open champion’s company Hana Kuma has partnered with the Australian’s Good Trouble podcast.
