NEW YORK — It’s not just how the game is played — increasingly, it’s how the player looks, as well.
When the 125th U.S. Tennis Open gets under way Aug. 28, the major athletic brands will be vying for their players to be fashion champs as well as tournament winners.
In addition to its marketing activities involving Maria Sharapova and James Blake (see separate story, this page), Nike will host a major promotional event on Aug. 24. The Nike-Golfsmith Street Rivalry will pit U.S. Open champion Roger Federer against chief rival Rafael Nadal. The event will take place at Golfsmith, one of Nike’s biggest tennis retailers, on 54th Street, between Third and Lexington Avenues in Manhattan, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Federer and Nadal will play a quick match for the crowd on a court set up in the partially closed-down block.
Nike will, of course, dress Federer and Nadal, as well as Blake and Sharapova, whose outfit is under wraps. The athletic giant also will outfit Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams, who returns to the courts for the first time post-injury at the Open.
Reebok is dressing top-seeded Amelie Mauresmo and the youngest player in the top 10, Nicole Vaidisova, 17. Each athlete has a distinct style reflected in her on-court apparel, and Reebok said both were involved in the design process.
Mauresmo will introduce on the court the Rbk Match Day Tank in tiger orange and the matching Rbk Match Day Skirt. She chose the color because of its strength and vibrancy, she said, to reflect her athletic and sporty style, which is also why she chose the skirt-and-tank option.
In contrast, Vaidisova chose feminine detailing, so she will wear the Rbk Match Day Dress with a flirty pleated look in powder blue.
The new fall Rbk tennis collections feature a subtle argyle fabric and PlayDry moisture management technology to keep the athletes cool on the court.
Reebok’s parent, Adidas, made a last-minute decision to scale back its U.S. Open efforts, but still will dress 10 athletes, though none in new apparel. Adidas sponsors Andre Agassi, the two-time Open winner who is retiring this year. Agassi and two other players will wear the company’s YOC apparel, which features ClimaCool technology to manage sweat and heat. Maria Kirilinko will wear tennis apparel from Adidas’ Stella McCartney line.
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Fila is dressing the winners of the last two U.S. Opens, hoping one will end up winning this year, as well. It will outfit Svetlana Kuznetsova, the 2004 champ, and last year’s title holder, Kim Clijsters, who is also the focus of a Fila-sponsored event. She will make an in-store appearance Aug. 24 in Fila’s Manhattan flagship, joining the “Artists Play Two” T-shirt series, a continued collaboration between Fila and New York Collective to combine art and sport.
In its second year as an official sponsor of the Open, Polo Ralph Lauren is not dressing athletes but will outfit court officials, modifying the coloring of this year’s uniform to add red.
The sponsor will host Polo Ralph Lauren Day on Sept. 2, giving out prizes and letting people hit balls at Flushing Meadow. Polo is continuing its breast-cancer alliance with a new Pink Pony tank, which comes in a tennis ball canister. Other Pink Pony products from last year will still be available, including tennis balls.
U.S. Open visitors can buy these products at the temporary, on-location store Polo is setting up or through interactive-technology screens launched in conjunction with the Open, which will be at the on-location store and at the Polo store on Madison Avenue. Fans in luxury suites can order from one of the catalogues on hand and the products will be delivered there or to the shopper’s home.