That tennis has become a gold mine in recent years is now clear. In recent months, however, something has changed. Ever since Coco Gauff wore a New Balance suit and leather jacket at Roland Garros, the relationship between fashion and tennis has reached new heights. So much so that the tennis court has now turned into a sort of catwalk. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t…
by Domenico Casoria
The Plus of Gauff
When she took the tennis court to play her first match at the French Slam (which she later won), Coco Gauff realised she had forgotten her rackets. The scene caused general hilarity and only ended when someone ran to bring them to her. On that occasion, the tennis player was wearing a custom-made suit by New Balance and a black leather jacket by Vanson Leathers. At the end of the match, Gauff posted photos of the match online, accompanied by the caption ‘no rackets but the fit is still a hit’, which paraphrased means ‘it’s ok that I forgot my rackets to play tennis, the outfit was still a hit’. The entire tournament of the two-time American Slam champion was marked by sophisticated and not typically tennis matches. It was not the first time that Gauff had surprised before a match.
During the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Gauff played matches in an outfit resulting from the collaboration between New Balance (for which the tennis player has been a testimonial since 2018, i.e. since she was a budding 14-year-old) and the fashion brand Miu Miu, of the Prada galaxy. A somewhat unprecedented incursion, but not the first of its kind. Last year, it was Jannik Sinner‘s turn to play with fashion of a certain kind. On the occasion of the ‘very strict’ Wimbledon, in fact, he had taken to the court with a Gucci bag. At the time, the news caused a sensation, especially since the tournament still required white.
Precedents
Going beyond the strict English rules (even underwear must be white), it is clear that in recent years, athletes – and even creative teams – have given themselves the opportunity to use tennis to break out of predefined patterns. To be fair, it has to be said that while in the women’s circuit forays into fashion are now a daily occurrence, in the men’s circuit it is more difficult, with fashion used only from the dressing room onwards.
Before Gauff, however, it was Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka who discovered this liason between fashion and racquets. The four-time Slam champion is literally an icon in this respect. At Roland Garros, for example, she showed up in a cherry pink Nike outfit and a visor decorated with two chignons. The champion, who went out in the first round, posted the shots online with a sarcastic comment: (I lost, ed.) “but at least I made the fashion + tennis team proud”. It was not the first time for Osaka, who personally created her looks. At the US Open, she had appeared on the court in a wide acid green skirt and a large bow in the same colour, all signed by Nike.
But the new generation of female tennis players has only one style benchmark: Serena Williams. The 23-time Slam champion has always characterised her outings on the court. For her farewell to tennis in 2022, she designed a total look with Nike consisting of a suit and shoes decorated with small diamonds. On the laces of the shoes, however, two inscriptions: Mama and Queen (her nickname). In short, it seems that today, the tennis/fashion binomial has become more structural. A (not so silent) and not at all passive collaboration.
Photos from the athletes’ Instagram profiles