👉 Read More: US Open Fashion Watch: Venus, Djokovic and Osaka lead the style charge in New York
Proof of concept came right before the US Open—tennis’s Super Bowl for brand partnerships—where the ATP set up a style suite and stylist Mobolaji Dawodu, formerly of GQStyle, dressed players in brands like Ferragamo and Ralph Lauren. Frances Tiafoe, Flavio Cobolli, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune were among those styled for sponsor events, pre-tournament outings and a Vogue Business photoshoot.
“It’s something I’ve liked since I was maybe 16, 17, when they asked me to do my first photoshoot ever,” Rublev said after his second-round win at the US Open. “I was a bit (nervous), like, ‘What am I doing here? What is this?’ I was in kind of not comfortable positions… Later on, when I start to get older and do other photoshoots, I start to do better and feel more confident.
“I just like it. It’s something outside of tennis… that I felt good with, and I’m enjoying this process while it’s happening.”
The ATP has also been tapping influential social media accounts to review outfits during the tournament, creating crossover content at the exact moment when the tennis and fashion worlds are converging. With New York Fashion Week up next on the social calendar, the timing couldn’t be better. Vogue’s longtime former editor Anna Wintour—one of tennis’s most visible fashion fans—has been courtside in Flushing Meadows almost daily.
