With the Australian Open, the year’s first slam, comes the debut
of professional tennis fashion. To start off 2013, the
majority of players wore apparel and shoes in various shades of yellow. From
optic yellow to light yellow, the color made a strong on-court presence. Other
players, such as Serena Williams and Roger Federer, had special outfits in
different color schemes making their own impact. The following highlights the
best and worst tennis apparel of the tournament:
The Women
Wearing adidas, Ana
Ivanović and Angelique
Kerber wore the most flattering outfits in terms of fit and
fashion. Ivanović (dress) and Kerber (skirt and top) debuted in the
same color palette, a light yellow with some grey and white. Both have
different skin tones, hair colors, and certainly body types; yet, the design
and color of the outfit complemented them very well. In terms of accessories, I
preferred Ivanovic’s choice of white wristbands versus Kerber's yellow
wristbands paired with the outfit.
Also in adidas, Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Kirilenko wore the same dress in yellow and white. They looked just as good if not better than Ivanović and Kerber. I would probably pick this dress to wear except for the fact that it is so short. The male spectators can definitely get a nice view, but for the average female tennis player, this dress would not be the answer. The apparel worn by Ivanović and Kerber translate to any player regardless of body type.
Serena
Williams' Nike outfit was bold and daring much like her style of play, but
I would argue that it's not necessarily the best color scheme. Royal purple and
light purple go nicely together, but I don't like the bright orange with it.
Throwing a random color like bright orange into the outfit did not improve it.
I don't understand why they can't put together a better outfit for the best
female tennis player of all time. I did like Serena's bright orange shoes
and headband, but they do not match the purple color scheme. In general, Nike
designs the best shoes for Serena and the worst outfits. I will hold back all
comments on Serena's doubles attire. It is hardly worth mentioning and follows
suit with the colors described below for Vika Azarenka.
Nike made another mistake with Vika Azarenka, the #1 player in the world. I can't understand why Nike would pair a light orange dress with dark purple accessories. I am just baffled by the color combinations for the world's best female players. You would think that Nike could come up with a better game plan, since those players presumably sell the most attire. There was only one thing I liked about Vika's attire. It was a predominately white warm-up jacket that she wore during the finals.
Li Na's
Nike outfit had much better flair especially after her win over Agnieszka
Radwanska. Minus the bright orange, her skirt featured the same royal purple
and light purple pairing as Serena's dress. I am not a fan of the flouncy skirt
look, but considering the other outfits worn by Vika and Serena, it is an improvement.
For a top, she wore a traditional Dri-FIT, white-collared shirt. I like how the
colors all work together; there's no misfit color scheme.
Nike also did a nice job designing Maria Sharapova's dress. Sticking with the core color group of yellow, white, and grey, Nike's selection for Sharapova was definitely hit. I wouldn't say any female tennis player could wear this dress since it's designed for a specific body type, but it did look great on her. My favorite aspects of her outfit were the grey visor and gusset. I just love this shade of grey and can see it being paired with any color. Her dress is also reminiscent of Ana Ivanović adidas dress with a similar color scheme.
Fila made a comeback for me with Jelena Jankovic’s dress. I found the shade of blue and fit very flattering on her.
Typically, Fila outfits players in their signature colors: red, navy, and white,
but Jankovic’s dress was a nice departure from this. I will look for more Fila
fashions in the upcoming months.
Meanwhile, Svetlana Kuznetsova could not look much worse in her Atari dress. I have no idea what sponsor would put a dress on her. She needs to wear separates. A dress does not fit her physique or character. Her tennis is on the rise, but her fashion is on the decline. Probably the worst apparel selection of the tournament.
Lotto is also doing a nice job outfitting Agnieszka Radwanska. The salmon colored dress fit her well and was a becoming style. I would consider this dress an option for any female tennis player. Lotto might be on the rise for female tennis fashion.
Sloane Stephens looks fashionable in her Under Armour attire. However, I don't necessarily like the color pairing of light purple and optic green/yellow. Similar to Serena Williams' shoes, Sloane's light purple shoes stand out on the court and make a statement.
Taking fashion into her own hands, Venus Williams has her own line of tennis attire. I was hesitant to critique, but I must say I do like the impressionistic splashes of color and black piping on her dress. The black gusset puts the finishing touches on her outfit. Venus’ outfit was original and stood out from the color-blocking of the leading sportswear companies.
For the most part, adidas and Nike are dressing the female tennis
professionals the best. There are always some questionable color pairings
and outfit choices, but overall I can't be too critical of these two sportswear
companies.
The Men
As usual, the leader in technique and fashion is Roger Federer. Similar to Venus Williams, Federer has some
say in what he wears on the court. He works with Nike to design his
outfits and even accepts feedback from top fashion designers in the industry
(as some of you may already know). I love the different shades of grey he has
paired with pink. The fit of his clothes compares to his shot selection, which
is near perfection. Many sportswear companies do not fit men properly for
tennis shorts, but Federer's shorts are tailored to his trunk. They are not too
tight, the pockets don't bulge, and they fit his butt nicely. They are
not diaper shorts with extra room for load dropping. Like Serena Williams,
Nike definitely puts the best shoes on Federer. I don't know how many men will
opt for pink/black/white shoes with pink laces, but we can hope they come with
black or white laces too. As far as I can remember, the only other male to
successfully wear pink was Andre Agassi. Maybe pink will make a comeback for
men's tennis fashion.
I also liked Nike’s apparel for Juan
Martin Del Potro. The dark teal green shirt paired with light grey shorts looked perfect on his tall frame. Even the bright
orange Nike swooshes stood out nicely with these colors. I would have suggested a better shoe to match the look, but I guess you can't have it all. I am not a fan of predominantly white tennis shoes.
Milos Raonic - one of my favorites for worst fashion - has a new sponsor, New Balance. Previously, Raonic wore Lacoste, and the fit could not have been worse. His Lacoste shirts were too small and short. They were sending him a size small or boys' large when he really needed men’s large. New Balance at least fits him better, but in terms of the colors and designs, the new attire was horrendous. I was dizzy watching him play Federer, lucky for me it only lasted a short time.
Adidas designed impressive outfits with yellow accents for Jo Wilfred Tsonga, Gilles Simon, and Andy Murray. Tsonga's attire, including shoes, is probably one of the best complete outfits worn by any man in the tournament. Adidas did a slight variation of Tsonga's outfit for Simon. Similar to the clothing worn by Ana Ivanoic and Angelique Kerber, the color grouping of yellow, grey, and white was a proven success on the men's side as well.
As adidas' top player, I felt Murray was entitled to a stronger
ensemble coming off a 2012 US Open title and an Olympic gold medal, but overall
his appearance wasn't too shabby. I preferred his predominantly black outfit with some yellow and grey
to the white version. I noticed that his shirts fit him well
(showing off his buff frame), but his shorts could be slightly looser. They
were clinging to his butt and reminded of the way Rafael Nadal's shorts fit
him. Adidas also came up with the best practice
T-shirt slogan for Andy Murray: Prepare, Attack, Destroy.
Similar to Nike and adidas, Lotto designed predominantly yellow
apparel for Nicolás Almagro and David Ferrer. Both wore the same shirt with
different color shorts, Almagro wore yellow shorts and Ferrer
wore white shorts. I prefer the white shorts paired with the shirt, but the fit
of the shorts was just horrendous. The pockets stuck out and looked
ridiculous.
You would think the top ranked player in the game, Novak Djokovic, would have better-designed apparel.
Wearing UNIQLO, a Japanese sportswear and equipment manufacturer, he looks
more like a bumble bee or a lesser-known superhero. I like the fit and
quality, but feel the design could definitely be improved. UNIQLO has its
work cut out for them because Nike and adidas dominate the tennis fashion
market. Even though the fit of his shoes gave him some trouble in the final, his adidas silver and black shoes were the best aspect of his attire.
KSwiss, formerly known for creating durable tennis shoes, needs to
put better clothes on the Bryan brothers, the best doubles team of all time.
Their shorts are so baggy that they might as well wear them over their
heads. Their shirts would be fine if they were all red, but the back is
practically all white. The shirt is like
a reversible tablecloth. With American men's tennis on the decline,
it would be nice to have our top doubles team looking a bit more stylish.
Much like the women, Nike and adidas are the trend-setters for
tennis attire.
In the upcoming months, I look forward to the return of Rafael
Nadal's outlandish outfitting as well as improved styles for Serena Williams
and Novak Djokovic. I also predict more strong fashion performances from
Roger Federer and Caroline Wozniacki.
