Aryna Sabalenka drew as much attention for her diamond jewellery as her performance in reaching the second round of the French Open.
The world number one, who is bidding to win her first title in Paris, did not look entirely comfortable in the hot conditions but overcame a couple of wobbles to claim a 6-4 6-2 victory over Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Sabalenka is always a strong presence on court but she is unmissable this year with her Material Good jewellery set featuring diamond necklaces and a pair of earrings worth nearly 150,000 US dollars (approximately £110,000).
On Friday, the 28-year-old was a leading figure in the player protest calling for elevated levels of prize money from the grand slams, but she dismissed suggestions of hypocrisy.
“I don’t really see how it can be possible to cross these two completely different worlds,” she said.
“As I said before, prize money, it’s not about me at all. It’s just fighting for players, lower-ranked players who are really struggling to survive in this tennis world.
“So it has nothing to do with me that I’m fighting for the prize money. Everyone knows that I’m OK. It’s just that we are fighting for a fair percentage out of the revenues, and also for the lower-ranked players, players coming back after injuries, next generation, to be more comfortable coming into the top 10.”
Sabalenka chose only to wear two of the three necklaces during the match, and insisted the jewellery is a help rather than a hindrance.
“I don’t really feel the heaviness of it, but I can imagine how it looks from the outside,” she said.
“It’s supposed to be the third necklace, but, I was, like, ‘OK, it’s kind of too much probably’, so I decided to keep it just two.
“I feel pretty comfortable. For me, it’s important to look good. If I feel good looking-wise, I perform better and I feel great.”
Naomi Osaka’s grand slam outfits have become a major talking point, and she again made a dramatic entrance in a long black skirt and top before removing both to reveal a sparkling gold dress.
She did not have an easy time of it against the tricky Laura Siegemund but battled to a 6-3 7-6 (3) victory, while defending champion Coco Gauff defeated fellow American Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-0.
The men’s event lost another top-10 seed as Daniil Medvedev crashed to a five-set defeat against Australian wild card Adam Walton.
The sixth seed has been in good form but Roland Garros has often been a venue of struggle for him, and his 6-2 1-6 6-1 1-6 6-4 loss was the seventh first-round defeat of his career in Paris.
It is also the fourth time in the last six grand slams that former US Open champion Medvedev has failed to make it to the second round.
“I don’t think I lost the ability to perform in grand slams,” said the Russian. “So I do think it can come back any moment.”
French teenager Moise Kouame became the youngest man to reach the second round at Roland Garros in 35 years with a 7-6 (4) 6-2 6-1 victory over another former US Open champion, Marin Cilic.
The 17-year-old, the first man born in 2008 or later to play in the main draw of a slam, became an instant favourite with his crowd-pleasing style.
The age gap of 20 years and five months between Kouame and 37-year-old Cilic is the second widest of any men’s grand slam match this century.
