- Naomi Osaka had an astounding run-in with a butterfly during her 2021 Australian Open title run.
- This year, the 24-year-old wore custom Nike butterfly shoes during her first-round match Down Under.
- The butterfly has become something of an unofficial good-luck charm for the 4-time Grand Slam champ.
Naomi Osaka is back in action at the Australian Open.
The 24-year-old tennis superstar registered a dominant win in the first round of this year's tournament. And even though she needs no extra help succeeding Down Under — having already won two of her four career Grand Slam titles at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena — Osaka leaned into one of her good luck charms to kick off her title defense.
Last year, en route to winning her most recent Grand Slam, Osaka had an astounding on-court encounter with a butterfly. The little critter fluttered around her racket and even landed on her face, prompting the Japanese international to pause her match and help the butterfly to safety.
Since then, the butterfly has become something of an unofficial good-luck charm for the hard hitter. And since she couldn't be sure that a second butterfly would join her on the court at this year's tournament, she donned custom Nike butterfly shoes during Sunday's opening match.
The sneakers appear to be NikeCourt Air Zoom GP Turbo Naomi Osaka women's hard court tennis shoes, based on the model listed on Nike's website. The butterfly colorway is not available for purchase — at least not at present.
But the kicks seem to be working for Osaka, who took down Colombia's Camila Osorio 6-3, 6-3 in Sunday's opener.
It was "nice to be back," the reigning champion wrote on Twitter later that day, adding a butterfly emoji and a photo of her shoes to boot.
—NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) January 17, 2022
Osaka will take the court again on Wednesday, where she'll face American Madison Brengle in a second-round match beginning 7 p.m. local time or 3 a.m. EST. Whether her new sneakers will make a second appearance remains to be seen.
But a little extra luck can't hurt.