Best players’ tattoos at the Australian Open and their meaning
They’re tennis players who wear their heart on their sleeve and some of their sleeves are inked with their heart. From Kyrgios to Alcaraz, Sabalenka and more, we reveal the Australian Open’s best tattoos and their meanings.
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Ever wondered what ink the world’s best are sporting?
They’re tennis players who wear their heart on their sleeve on the court and some of their sleeves are inked with their heart.
Here are the best tattoos of the Aus Open and the meaning behind them.
Carlos Alcaraz
It had to get the tick of approval from mum first, but the Spaniard marked his first grand slam victory with a memento of Paris in the form of the Eiffel Tower and date on his left leg.
He’s won another three majors since then, but said he “told (his parents) just to calm them that it’s just the first one of every major”.
A kangaroo will follow should he salute at Melbourne Park.
Naomi Osaka
“I’m Naomi”.
It doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as the man who calls Gotham City home, but Naomi Osaka recently heaped praise on her sister Mari for her apparently Batman-inspired red tattoo design.
Osaka, who was forced out of the Australian Open in the third round due to injury, also has more ink depicting a bird on her ankle.
Aryna Sabalenka
Arguably one of the most striking and famous displays of ink in tennis, Aryna Sabalenka’s tiger tattoos are said to represent her powerful and courageous spirit, and the year she was born – 1998 – being the year of the tiger.
It’s earned her the nickname of The Tiger and her team donned temporary tiger tattoos in tribute to her at the US Open, with the Belarusian hinting there could be more in store in Melbourne should she continue on.
Matteo Berrettini
The Italian admits he has “quite a lot” of tattoos – and that his nan isn’t all that happy about it.
“I think I have 11,” he said recently.
“I have a feeling that it’s going to be more soon, but yeah, I just love them so I can’t help it.”
Berrettini’s tatts include a compass and a sun on his arm, plus the date of birth of his brother.
“Tattoos are art in the most beautiful way,” he said on 2022.
“I really love all of my tattoos”.
Thanasi Kokkinakis
The Australian has steadily added to his collection of ink over the years, with a butterfly on his leg and a quote in tribute to his grandparents on his arm both prominent.
He also dons a swallow on his left hand and an olive wreath on his left shoulder in apparent acknowledgment of his Greek heritage.
Nick Kyrgios
There’s quotes, an arm sleeve depicting NBA players and an entire back tattoo dedicated to Pokemon. No, that’s not a typo. Kyrgios revealed in 2023 that the intricate artwork took five tattoo artists from Ganga Tattoo Studio in LA to complete and features at least nine Pokemon characters, including Blastoise and Snorlax. His arm piece includes the likes of NBA icons LeBron James and Kobe Bryant, while his leg tattoo reads “give a man a mask and he will reveal his true self”. Deep.
Renata Zarazua
It might be depicted on countless athletes across the globe, but any Olympic rings tattoo never gets old.
To be an Olympian is forever – so the saying goes, “Never Past, Never Former” – with the 27-year-old Mexican marking her appearance in the Tokyo Olympics on her forearm.
Dayana Yastremska
Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska knows the meaning of family and marks the special relationship with her mother Maryana on her forearm.
The tattoo reads “Mother Beauty” and Yastremska, 24, said last year that it served as a reminder to never give up – on court, or off.
“Sometimes I look and it reminds me that I have to fight until the end,” she said.
Corentin Moutet
The Frenchman made headlines early in the tournament when he dismissed local hope Alexei Popyrin in the first round, but his ink has also caught eyes around Melbourne Park.
He bears one on the back of his neck that reads “Chaos Makes the Muse”, while his arm reads “No Rain, No Flowers” and a “No Drama Llama” bearing sunglasses and throwing a peace sign, matching with his team members.
Lorenzo Musetti
There’s custom tattoos, and then there’s Lorenzo Musetti, who enlisted the assistance of his uncle – a cardiologist – to create his unique artwork on his arm.
He has a ship’s anchor on his wrist and a quote on his torso, but the heartbeat with a tennis racquet proves the biggest talking point.
His uncle captured his heartbeat frequency and he added the racquet to symbolise the huge part the sport plays in his life.
Jiri Lehecka
Some players go for something more simple – like Jiri Lehecka.
The Czech player added two intertwining lines in 2024, but conceded it didn’t really mean much.
“That’s the kind of tattoo I like,” he said in August.
“It doesn’t really have any meaning. But I always like to say that these two lines are like my social life, with family, friends, also with the life on the tour, tennis, coaches and everyone connecting together, being stronger together.”
Chris O’Connell
The Australian is reported to have been in a tattoo parlour in Sweden in 2019 in the wee hours when he acted on his urged to get inked up, with tennis blog LeTour Tennis detailing how O’Connell, then 25, ended up with an incomplete circle on his left thigh.
It is said to have been a mechanism to combat his pursuit of perfectionism and “OCD tendencies” and to remind him that “nothing is perfect”.
Elina Svitolina
The Ukrainian has at least four tattoos, including a striking geometrical tiger with a chandelier, a Carpe Diem tattoo on her hand as a reminder to live in the present and a symbol on her shoulder in recognition of her country and her daughter.
“I begin the year with a significant tattoo,” she wrote on Instagram in January 2024.
“This written symbol ‘Ï’ possesses crucial meaning to Ukraine, acts as a charm for Ukrainian prosperity and represents the idea of Ukrainian independence. Additionally, the name of my daughter Skaï incorporates this symbol, thereby enhancing the strength it holds.”
Bethanie Mattek-Sands
Bethanie Mattek-Sands has always brought the colour to the court, from her outfits, fierce make-up and hair and of course her ink.
Her right arm is adorned with flowers – from sunflowers to lotus – and includes a bee in reference to her nickname.
Gael Monfils
The electric Frenchman is well-inked all over his body, and has explained the meaning behind his body art over recent years.
He’s got wings on his back that he has said “protect me”, and told French media outlet L’Equipe about his prominent wing design on his left wrist in 2012.
“They illustrate the good and the bad, the eternal struggle of good and evil,” he said.
“Those on the back represent only the good. Below, there’s a playing card. As five, that means 15. 15 is my favourite number. It’s a family number, the sign of infinity, for me. Everything is possible. Anything can happen.”
Flavio Cobolli
The youngster is marked with a number of designs in a range of languages including Italian and Chinese.
He has quotes including “going for the win” and Chinese symbols for bravery and passion, a wolf of Roma, a symbol for his hometown Florence and a “grumpy face” which he has said is from his mum who told him “you are always mad with everyone”.
“I like to make tattoos, because I like with my body painted,” Cobolli has said.
“And so there is no reason about that. I just like it. I wake up and I go.”
Jordan Thompson
There was little question for Jordan Thompson as to what he’d ink on himself if given the opportunity.
The proud Australian – who represented his country at the 2016 Olympics in Rio – bears the Australian coat of arms and the Olympic rings inside his right bicep and has often pointed to it in victory.
“It means the world to me to play for Australia, with the tattoo on my bicep,” he said a number of years ago.
“I’m very Australian. I’ll do anything to wear the green and gold.”
Cam Norrie
The Brit has acknowledged some of his major tennis milestones on his skin.
His left thigh shows a landscape with a cactus in recognition of his 2021 Indian Wells Masters victory – where he became the first-ever British champion at the tournament.
A puma is emblazoned on his ribcage, marking his first appearance at a grand slam at Wimbledon in 2016.
“It was my first time playing Wimbledon, my coach is Argentinian, I quite like rugby,” Norrie said in 2018, referencing Argentina’s national rugby team, Los Pumas.
“I had always wanted a tattoo and I didn’t want to get something mainstream.”
Borna Coric
“There is nothing worse in life than being ordinary,” or so states Borna Coric’s permanent artwork inside his right bicep.
Not that he’s been entirely thrilled with it over the years in what could serve as a warning to anyone considering getting inked.
“I don’t like it anymore,” he is reported to have said in 2020.
“I have done it when I was 17 and a half. I wish I could remove it now. I was young … it’s OK. It’s not bothering me so much, but it’s not a phrase with my view (of life).”
He also has more ink on his stomach.
Stan Wawrinka
Irish poet Samuel Beckett takes to the court every time 2014 Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka does, with the wordsmith’s famed quote firmly within sight on the Swiss player’s forearm.
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better,” it reads.
He also has his daughter Alexia’s name penned on his rib cage.
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