With Paris getting ready for Haute Couture Week, the trickle-down effect can be seen on the dusty battlefield of the ongoing French Open. It is one of the tournaments where players are not afraid to experiment with their outfits. Tennis, since the very beginning, has had a massive influence on sartorial culture. Even though players’ comfort is the first priority, dressing up has not gone out of vogue.
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A layer each of stones, gravel, clinker, limestone, and fine-crushed bricks go into the making of a much-famed clay court, whose reddish-brown texture sharpens the intensity of drama unfolding on either side of the nets. While Rafael Nadal winning this tournament might not evoke any astonishment (what’s so surprising about the King of Clay retaining his crow?), his outfit has still retained the surprising element. It is a mere extension of the brand of tennis he practices: bold, aggressive, and experimental.
This year, Nike designed a yellow-green outfit for Nadal. The dri-fit panel is in a ‘V’ shape, with colour blocks at the top. He completed the look with his trademark headband, and Nike Zoom Vapor Cage 4 shoes.
Lacoste designed a red tee with a flashing pattern on the front, depicting the tennis ball in its motion. Daniil Medvedev, another player sponsored by Lacoste, stuck with the basic, donning a blue Polo T-shirt, dotted by a sky-blue side panel, and white shorts.
Medvedev suffered a shocking fourth-round defeat to Marin Cilic, on Monday. Cilic’s round-collar outfit was colour-blocked on the front, with red being the most dominant colour. The upper part of his tee had a purple stripe on a white background.
Adidas’ new Paris collection hasn’t gone down too well with fans. Their latest is engraved with hieroglyphics that many fans compared to some occult symbols. Stefanos Tsitsipas, Felix Auger Aliassime, and Sebastian Korda were in this outfit. The patterns are a minimalist representation of the botanical garden around Roland Garros. While this may seem like a bit extreme for a tennis match, it’ll work well at any psychedelic fest.
Diego Schwartzman looked dapper in his top-to-bottom pink outfit, and he may like to have a few words with men who are embarrassed to wear pink. The simplicity—no cutouts, patterns, or colour-blocking—made it even more appealing.
Hydrogen, a luxury sportswear brand from Italy, came up with the quirkiest design you’ll ever see on the tennis court. Titled the ‘Tattoo tech tee’, the t-shirt is embossed with a sticker of roaring tigers, a model in a swimsuit, dragons, anchors, and many more such motifs.
Featured Image Credit: Jose Morgado
