Novak Djokovic's Lacoste, Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner's Nike, Elena Rybakina's Yonex: What are the outfits represented in Wimbledon 2024 QFs?
The apparel tennis players wear has always been the topic of discussion for many lovers of the game. The variety of the clothes on display adds to the spectacle considerably.
Wimbledon is a tournament that adheres to tradition in almost every respect. The dress code for the players at All England Club is strictly white. Still, the variety in design in the whites worn by players looks splendid against the green backdrop. With the quarterfinal line-ups finalized, the players still left in the draw will represent different sporting apparel brands.
Novak Djokovic is sponsored by Lacoste:
French clothing brand Lacoste is the sponsor of Djokovic, the seven-time Wimbledon champion and current World No. 2. Djokovic signed a five-year contract with Lacoste in 2017, which was later extended till 2025. He typically wears a red Lacoste shirt during the clay-court season but wears a white one at Wimbledon as per the custom.
Lacoste also has a separate clothing line named after Djokovic. The French brand also sponsors Daniil Medvedev, another quarterfinalist at Wimbledon.
Nike will spend a lot of money on both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner:
Nike currently sponsors both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the two most exciting youngsters in men's tennis at the moment. Alcaraz recently signed a deal with Nike that would reportedly pay him at least 15 million dollars per year.
Nike has also designed player-edition shows for the 21-year-old Spaniard just like it had done for Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Like Nadal, Alcaraz is known to don colorful outfits in tournaments other than Wimbledon. However, he dons the classic whites at All England Club.
Sinner has also signed a 10-year deal with Nike that will reportedly make the Italian richer by 158 million dollars. The 22-year-old became a trendsetter at Wimbledon 2023 by carrying a high-end luxury bag along with him to the courts. The young Italian has thus emerged as a fashion icon in tennis. Another young Italian tennis star, Lorenzo Musetti, who has reached the last eight, is also sponsored by Nike, thereby maintaining the American company's reputation of tying up with young stars of tennis.
Yonex has made a foray into tennis:
Yonex is a well-known brand for preparing apparel and sports gear extensively for badminton. However, it has recently made an entrance into tennis as well. It signed a new contract with Elena Rybakina, the only Kazakh woman to have won a Grand Slam. Rybakina uses the VCORE 100 racquet of Yonex.
Other brands like Asics and BOSS are also in the fray, sponsoring Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz, respectively, among others. Asics also sponsors Jasmine Paolini in women's tennis. Adidas goes unrepresented in the men's last eight, with Alexander Zverev bowing out in the fourth round. Then there is Fila, sponsoring Emma Navarro and Barbora Krejcikova, a former world No. 2, at Wimbledon.
However, the presence of Adidas is not as big in tennis as it is in football these days. It will be interesting to see whether the German brand goes on to sponsor any other top player in the coming days.