The latest tennis models: The new Agassi, Hewitt and Kournikova
Tennis trends go back and forth as frequently as the ball in a five-set match. Since French player René Lacoste’s crocodile shirts in 1927, Gussie Moran’s lace knickers at Wimbledon in 1949 and John McEnroe’s ’70s brat style, there have always been sophisticates, provocateurs and rebels.
Meet the new generation of players at the Australian Open, serving the familiar style of past champions in a new direction.
Andre Agassi in 1988 at the US Open; Anna Kournikova in 2002 at the Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day Tennis Festival in New York; Lleyton Hewitt at the AAPT Tennis Finals in Adelaide in 1999.Credit: Getty Images
Bright spark Frances Tiafoe – the next Andre Agassi
Since playing in a squiggly print Nike shorts and T-shirt set at the AO in 2023, US player Frances Tiafoe has been the natural successor to Andre Agassi’s lairy style.
In the ’80s and ’90s, before mellowing during his 2000, 2002 and 2003 Australian Open men’s final wins, Agassi regularly brought Las Vegas flair to centre court with headbands, tie-dye and a magnificent mullet.
Before being knocked out by Italian player Fabian Marozsan in the second round of this year’s tournament, Tiafoe was taking a similar retina-searing approach to sportswear in a flamingo pink outfit from his latest sponsor, lululemon.
“We’re so excited to welcome Frances Tiafoe to the lululemon family,” Nikki Neuburger, chief brand officer for lululemon, said following Tafoe’s signing as an ambassador on January 10.
“Our ambassadors play an important role in our brand ecosystem. They not only inspire and influence guests around the world, they also directly inform and elevate our performance product through their unique insights and expertise.”
Frances Tiafoe in the second round of the Australian Open; Andre Agassi at the 1990 French Open.Credit: Getty Images
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.
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.
Make the most of your health, relationships, fitness and nutrition with our Live Well newsletter. Get it in your inbox every Monday.