The tennis season is back, and the excitement is buzzing louder! With the first Grand Slam of the year just around the corner in Melbourne, the chatter is all about who’s bringing their A-game to the court. But wait—it’s not just their forehands and backhands grabbing attention this time. Nope, it’s their outfits that have become the talk of the town! The tennis fashion police are out in full force, and fans are sharing some strong opinions about what Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Frances Tiafoe might be rocking on the court. As sneak peeks of their potential ensembles surface, it seems not everyone is thrilled with the designs.
Taking to its website recently, Nike released some new collections. Ranging from green, yellow, and white collections, the tennis attire ensures to incorporation of a touch of white color to every collection. These collections are priced between $95 and $110 on the website of the sportswear giant. However, the launch is not going unnoticed as the fans are drawing interesting parallels to the attire and the upcoming Australian Open.
Since the collection is launched just a few days ahead of the Australian Open, fans are assuming that players like Sinner, Alcaraz, and Tiafoe, who are sponsored by the billion-dollar brand, can likely be spotted wearing similar outfits on the courts. And despite the outfit looking light-weight and appropriate for Australian summer, the design is failing to mesmerize the fans.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
Several fans took their social media handles and expressed their disappointment over the outfits. They claimed that the designs were too generic and that the top players would not be able to bring out their fashion flair, given the colors of the attire.
Nike faces trolling over its new tennis collection
Taking to X, one user wrote, “carlos and jannik about to look like the power rangers at AO.” Well, one can certainly understand that the fans are drawing a parallel between the green and yellow Rangers of the popular Power Rangers show to the outfits of similar colors released by Nike. They are further assuming that players like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner might present a similar power ranger look while taking charge on courts in Brisbane. More such reactions continued to follow.
Responding to the outfit, another user wrote, “This is so so gross. Like maybe On level bad 😂.” This is not the first time when Nike has found itself in hot waters over the attires presented by them. During the French Open last year, Aryna Sabalenka’s outfit by the brand drew immense flak. For the unversed, the Belarusian star’s outfit was inspired by the color of clay and had white shades to make it look more appealing. However, it did not sit well for many and brought immense criticism to the brand. Similar reactions continued as more people joined the fray.
“oh nike…. what is this,” a user questioned. Interestingly, Nike also allows some players to design their own outfits. Revealing the same in December last year, Naomi Osaka shared, “I realize not a lot of people know that I designed my Australian Open outfit for 2024. Idk why Nike let me do this but I’m excited for everyone to see the outfits to come lol.” Now, as the criticisms follow, it will be interesting to see if more players join a similar move and design their own attire.
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad
One more user joined the chorus and hilariously wrote, “Ready to see Jannik and Carlos dressed like a lemon and a sea creature at AO.” Nike’s tryst with criticisms is not new. During the Paris Olympics this year, the sportswear company faced a huge backlash as well. From MLB to track and field, several people complained that the outfits designed by the brand were not up to the mark. Now, it seems that these concerns have started to bother the tennis community as well ahead of the Australian Open.
Yet another user simply shared their disappointment and wrote, “Is this a joke?” Now, as the showdown in Melbourne inches closer, it would be interesting to see if Nike would come out to issue its stance over the criticisms. While it is not confirmed if the players will actually don this attire, the fans are definitely not willing to see it happen.