It has been one of the breakout stories of the US Open: not the surprising second-round exits, nor the at-the-net spats, but the freshly shorn head and Barbie-pink tank top of the winner, Carlos Alcaraz. The outsize reaction to the Spanish phenomenon’s new look is the latest example of the final grand slam of the year attracting attention not just for sporting prowess, but for the style moments it serves.
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Take, for instance, former champion Naomi Osaka, who crashed out to Amanda Animisova in Thursday’s semi-final, but not before sparkling under the night lights in a custom Nike indigo zip-up jacket embellished with Swarovski crystals, worn over a bubble-hem minidress. For her opening match, she wore a rose headpiece. (Also present throughout Osaka’s tournament: a series of bejewelled Labubu dolls, created by accessories line A-Morir, with monikers including “Billie Jean Bling” and “Andre Swagassi”.) The getup was “really elaborate”, Osaka admitted in a press conference, but it’s the kind of statement outfit her fans have come to expect and appreciate.
World class … Novak Djokovic in a custom Lacoste jacket. Photograph: Lacoste
Lacoste, the longtime kit supplier of Novak Djokovic, who was beaten by Alcaraz last week, has created a five-piece “GOAT” (greatest of all time) capsule, with the famous crocodile logo replaced by … well, you can guess which animal. But it was the 24-time slam winner’s first-round walk-on jacket that caused the most noise: a white windbreaker with laser-cut pieces of leather layered to form a low relief of a world map, and dotted with coloured tennis balls to match different court surfaces..
While tennis has always had a close relationship with fashion, or at least, style – from Fred Perry’s sharp slacks and Suzanne Lenglen’s pleated skirt and headscarf to Andre Agassi’s denim shorts (originally made for John McEnroe, who turned them down) and Serena Williams’ catsuit – the walk from locker room to baseline has become its own catwalk.
Court couture … Suzanne Lenglen, one of tennis’s original style queens. Photograph: George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images
Add to that last year’s hit tennis film, Challengers, and a fresh crop of personable stars with exciting play styles, and there is now a greater appetite for a sport that had rather lost its cultural way. US Open ticket sales are up 70% in the past five years.
“Fashion brands of all price ranges are heavily interested in tennis right now because the sport is hot, and they follow the eyeballs and money,” says Jessica Schiffer, a fashion business journalist who writes the Hard Court newsletter. Behemoths like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta have all brought high-profile players on board (Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti respectively) and smaller, boutique non-athleisure brands are creating lines that reference the tenniscore aesthetic. Meanwhile, Depop, the second-hand clothing app, has reported a 53% increase in searches for tennis skirts.
The wealthy, upper-class roots of the sport have long seen heritage brands associated with it, but now the likes of Rolex and Ralph Lauren are no longer dominating play.
Sport goes frow … Venus Williams in Lacoste at the Met Gala. Photograph: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Venus Williams has a prominent relationship with Lacoste – she even wore a Pelagia Kolotouros-created dress to the Met Gala – but this year she worked with her stylist, Ronald Burton III, to further wow the Flushing Meadows front row. Among her looks were a Merino wool kit designed by US brand Luar ; a fun, butter-yellow shearling racket bag, custom made by ERL’s Eli Russell Linnetz; and a Pucci dress .
Daniel-Yaw Miller, who covers fashion for the Sportsverse newsletter, predicts the influx of brand interest means traditional kit makers will have to up their game. While Nike might be ensuring Osaka dazzles and Alcaraz catches the eye in a lush plum twinset, its ready-to-wear tennis apparel has trended towards drab. Miller points to the number of stars, including the popular Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, who have left the iconic Nike swoosh behind – following in the footsteps of Roger Federer, who moved from Nike to Uniqlo in a $300m deal back in 2018.
Ken you believe it? Carlos Alcaraz rocked Barbie pink Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
“Nike is devoting the bulk of its resources to the top two players,” agrees Schiffer – Nike dresses Sinner and Alcaraz, and women’s No 1 Aryna Sabalenka – “so other players have made the savvy decision to look elsewhere, where they can get more money and specialised attention.”
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Britain’s Jack Draper, the world No 5 – as a Burberry ambassador and BFF of Anna Wintour – chose Queens to debut his partnership with the Californian athleisure brand Vuori.
“Players have moved on – they no longer need to be just one of 20 players on a brand’s roster,” says Miller. Rather than be faced with an opponent in identical uniform – a common gripe of fans and, as far back as the mid-00s, Maria Sharapova – players are creating a more individualised image to boost their profile and earnings. Nine of the top 10 tennis earners in 2025 made more money from endorsements than prize money. Some players, such as Andrey Rublev and Taylor Townsend, have even set up their own labels.
Burning bright … Frances Tiafoe in his new Lululemon outfit. Photograph: Sarah Yenesel/EPA
Coco Gauff, who has a collection with Miu Miu and New Balance, thinks the tennis and fashion crossover makes the sport more accessible: “We obviously have core tennis fans but fashion brings casual fans to the sport.” Gauff also believes looking good has a positive effect on her performance.
But a note of caution from Stuart Brumfitt, editor of tennis lifestyle magazine Bagel, on the more outré outfits: “The pros are trying to have these massive viral moments with these statement pieces, trying to mimic the tunnel walk that’s been a big thing in basketball for ages, or like boxers entering the ring in their flashy gowns. But, a lot of the time, it’s getting a bit Liberace, a little Las Vegas, in an attempt to steal the show. So I think, sometimes, it’s actually a bit anti-style.”
Underneath that somewhat gaudy Djokovic jacket? A slick, simple all-black look, reminiscent of Roger’s “Darth Federer” 2007 fit – one of the most loved looks of the past couple of decades. Simple, sleek – and not a diamante in sight.
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