Fortunately, lululemon’s athleisure empire does not include denim shorts, which Agassi wore during the 1988 US Open.
“I associated them with rebellion, with expanding the game, changing the game, not from a healthy place necessarily, more from my kind of psyche and demons,” Agassi said on the US Open’s social media channels last year. Hopefully, Tiafoe can keep any demons well away from acid wash.
Maximum impact Coco Gauff – the next Serena Williams
Slovak tennis commentator Daniela Hantuchová was talking about Coco Gauff’s aura when comparing her to 23-time grand slam event winner Serena Williams this week, but she could just as easily have been referring to her fashion sense.
“You can’t explain what it is, but it’s like the aura that she’s got around her,” Hantuchová said on Stan Sport. “The calmness, the confidence, just everything about Coco this year seems to be right.”
This was before Gauff was knocked out in the quarter-finals by Spaniard Paula Badosa.
New Balance-clad Coco Gauff at the Australian Open on Tuesday playing against Paula Badosa of Spain, who won the match; Serena Williams in Nike at the French Open in 2012.Credit: Getty Images
Gauff has picked up Williams’ same spirit of fun when it comes to on-court dressing. At the AO, she has been wearing a New Balance white bodysuit with a green utilitarian skirt inspired by the female characters in Marvel movies. Williams looked similarly super-powerful in a one-legged bodysuit in the 2021 AO.
Off-court, the 20-year-old shares Williams’ taste in luxury labels. In March, Gauff attended Time’s Women of the Year Awards wearing a custom Prada dress with a silver bustier – though she may require more bling if she wishes to shine as brightly as Williams on the Vogue runway in a metallic Balenciaga cape in 2022.
Champion next door Alex de Minaur – the next Lleyton Hewitt
Junior player Cruz Hewitt may seem the natural style successor to his father, Lleyton, but eighth-ranked Alex de Minaur has the same everyman appeal as the 2001 US Open winner.
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It could be style symbiosis, with de Minaur having referred to Lleyton as his childhood idol.
Like Lleyton, the fit of de Minaur’s tops is always a little bit baggy, along with the shorts, and the passing parade of patterns and colours barely registers, changing from tournament to tournament.
With his backwards baseball caps, Lleyton demonstrated some Bart Simpson attitude, but de Minaur is more Milhouse, wearing his correctly. That tradition can be carried on by Cruz.
Alex de Minaur in Asics at the Australian Open this week, and his mentor Lleyton Hewitt in Yonex playing at the Australian Open in 2008.Credit: Getty Images, Vince Caligiuri
Along with his appearance in men’s fashion magazine Esquire last year, de Minaur has demonstrated style aspirations beyond his hero by wearing Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Reverso Tribute chronograph in stainless steel (available for $40,200) on court.
Classic Emma Raducanu – the next Anna Kournikova
In classic on-court whites and sporting a sponsor-ready smile, Britain’s Emma Raducanu immediately earned comparisons with Russian player Anna Kournikova after her 2021 US Open win.
Emma Raducanu in round one of the Australian Open wearing Nike; Anna Kournikova in adidas at Wimbledon in 2002. Credit: Getty Images
In her short career, the photogenic Kournikova earned $US3.5 million ($5.5 million) in prize money on the WTA tour – relatively small in comparison to the $10 million in endorsements she reportedly earned every year at the height of her popularity.
Following her US Open triumph, Raducanu secured sponsorships with Dior, Tiffany, Porsche and Vodafone. In 2023, Raducanu’s private company posted more than £9.6 ($18.9 million) in profits, with on-court earnings of just £3.2 million.
Both players manage to look equally at home spruiking luxury goods, in the front row at fashion shows, and smiling for the cameras before their serves.
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