In 2021, the US Open final pitted Daniil Medvedev against Novak Djokovic. Both were Lacoste ambassadors and shared a classic tennis uniform: cotton polo shirts, in white and navy blue, on which only the famous crocodile stood out in a slightly larger size than usual. The French brand remained faithful to its style: sober, elegant, timeless. An aesthetic that seemed to underline the heritage of a sport clinging to its most traditional codes.
Four years later, in the 2025 final of the American competition, the scene is repeated in that unusual detail: the two finalists, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, once again share a sponsor. This time, Nike took the opportunity to turn it into a visual story thought out to the millimeter: velvet jackets in shades of terracotta and cherry, different but complementary, which in the final photo conveyed a clear idea of harmonized contrast.
"Tennis has become a space where fashion, sport and digital culture intersect to generate community and conversation. From being a sport symbol of elite and tradition, it has gone on to connect with urban fashion, vintage aesthetics and the digital codes that define Generation Z", highlights the professor and partner of Retalent, Luis Lara.
The staging amplified everything: Arthur Ashe Stadium turned into an improvised set, with a set of lights as a backdrop, leaving behind the classic American flags. The final image, with Alcaraz and Sinner embracing after the battle, looked like something out of a fashion editorial campaign: careful styling, chromatic contrast and a visual storytelling that transcends sports.
"With Federer and Nadal already out of the scene, the new generation of champions (Alcaraz, Sinner) offers brands a blank canvas. They are athletes who want to be perceived as close and with the ability to transcend beyond the court: both in fashion and lifestyle and in the conversations they generate in networks about their lives," Luis continues.
That's why tennis has been experimenting with new dress codes for years, moving away from immaculate white and opening up to more contemporary colors, fabrics and narratives. But what happens in this final is something else: when both finalists share a sponsor, the brand takes advantage of this exceptional situation to build an iconic image. Nike understood that the photo of Alcaraz and Sinner together would be a global cover, and turned it into a kind of live campaign: two ambassadors facing each other on the scoreboard, but connected by an aesthetic that dialogues.
Tennis has always been the sport of tradition, of mandatory white at Wimbledon, of "less is more". Today, brands are daring to translate what we see on the street (urban fashion, blocks of color, unexpected combinations) directly to the court. And the result not only attracts attention, but also generates conversation in networks and headlines outside the sport.
As the professor explains, "younger audiences no longer follow only the results on the court: they search on networks for the narratives behind their idols, in sport or music. That's why brands like Rolex, Gucci or Louis Vuitton rely on figures like Alcaraz and Sinner, transforming tennis into a sport that connects with their lifestyle and their way of seeing the world".
All this speaks to the place of fashion in tennis today: not just functionality and classic elegance, but identity, spectacle and communication. Players are not just athletes: they are living showcases of a style designed to generate conversations. And when a brand dresses both finalists, that conversation is multiplied: the court becomes a catwalk, and the final a global statement.
