Meet the Artist Behind Naomi Osaka’s Custom Labubus at the U.S. Open

While Naomi Osaka fought through her U.S. Open quarterfinal in Queens on Wednesday evening, an artist named Kerin Rose Gold was at a gallery in Lower Manhattan, anxiously checking the score on her phone.

Ms. Osaka unleashed a series of exacting groundstrokes to win the first set, then stalled to a tie in the second. Once the tennis star had climbed to a 3-1 lead in the deciding tiebreak, Ms. Gold excused herself and raced back to her studio.

She had what might be called a bedazzling emergency. She needed to encrust a five-inch elf figurine with “a few thousand” crystals — and she had less than 24 hours to do it.

Ms. Gold, 42, is the artist behind the sparkling Labubu-style dolls that Ms. Osaka has carried with her to each match of the tournament so far. Each one is embellished by hand and named to wink at a tennis colossus: Billie Jean Bling. Arthur Flashe. Althea Glitterson.

Labubus — paunchy little creatures with apple cheeks and vaguely menacing grins — have swept through pop culture in recent months. Ms. Osaka has unveiled each of hers in a post-match flourish: After her win against Karolína Muchová on Wednesday, she showed off a hot-pink figurine complete with a mini tennis racket.

“This is Andre Swagassi,” she said with a giggle during a televised interview. “He’s very unique.”