When Bottega Veneta’s creative director, Louise Trotter, was spotted in Italian tennis player Lorenzo Musetti’s box during his fourth-round match at Roland-Garros a few weeks ago, it was a subtle but notable sign that the love affair between fashion and tennis was reaching new heights.
That same week, Musetti, who’s ranked seventh in the world on the ATP Tour, appeared alongside megawatt stars ranging from Julianne Moore to Tyler, the Creator in the brand’s ‘Craft is Our Language’ campaign, celebrating 50 years of the brand’s iconic Intrecciato weave.
That was just the beginning. On Tuesday, Bottega Veneta announced that Musetti would be its first brand ambassador under Trotter. It’s a significant buy-in from Bottega Veneta — a luxury brand with little history in sports — that underscores just how important tennis has become for fashion.
In Italy alone, where the brand is based, tennis popularity has boomed amid the rise of world number one Jannik Sinner (who joins Musetti to make up seven Italian men in the ATP Top 50) and two-time women’s Grand Slam finalist and WTA world number five Jasmine Paolini. But the sport’s popularity is global: US tennis participation surged to a high of 25.7 million players this year, following five years of consistent growth, according to the US Tennis Association (USTA); and adult participation in the UK grew 44 per cent between 2019 and 2023, per the London Tennis Association (LTA). Attendance at Grand Slam events is higher than ever, as a growing crop of influential tennis WAGs are turning courtside seats into runway shows, and stars like Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff are breathing new life into a sport still mourning the career ends of phenoms like Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal. It’s prime time for fashion to take advantage.
Industry leaders and experts break down the sports, athletes and events that present opportunities for fashion in the year ahead.
“The scale of tennis as a sport today creates a whole new landscape for brands to contribute to the culture,” says Liz MacCuish, co-founder of Good Sport, a marketing agency that works with female athletes like British tennis star Katie Boulter. “For luxury and fashion brands in particular, the sport has everything — aspirational characters, beautiful locations and incredible stories.”
The finals at Roland-Garros put fashion on full display. After Gauff won the women’s final decked out in her New Balance x Miu Miu collab, the two brands garnered a media impact value (MIV) worth $1.7 million and $864,000, respectively, according to data from Launchmetrics. Alcaraz, a brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton, won the men’s final without an LV logo in sight, but his win (which Louis Vuitton celebrated on social media) still resulted in $496,000 MIV for the luxury brand. (MIV is calculated as the monetary value of posts, article mentions and social media interactions.)
“Brand partnerships today have to go beyond product placement or one-off campaigns — they need to feel real to create real impact,” says Alison Bringé, CMO of Launchmetrics. This means showing up for ambassadors not just when the brand is directly involved, but throughout their careers. “When brands celebrate an ambassador’s milestones, it shows a genuine relationship, and that kind of authenticity is what cuts through now.”
Refining the winning tennis playbook
Gucci, which has roots in tennis-inspired apparel dating back to the ’70s, was ahead of the curve when it partnered with then-rising star Sinner in 2022. Now one of the most famous athletes in the world, Sinner is contracted to carry Gucci duffel bags on-court at all tournaments, has regularly starred in the brand’s campaigns and is often seated next to Vogue’s Anna Wintour in the brand’s front row. Last week, the brand fêted Sinner with a pre-Wimbledon dinner at London’s Claridge’s — but its tennis investment goes deeper than just a brand face.
In May, Gucci launched its latest tennis collection alongside a limited-edition tennis racket made in collaboration with Head. That collection is being featured in the windows of their New Bond Street store during Wimbledon and was celebrated with a cocktail party for clients, some of whom Gucci is also providing with tickets and hospitality at the tournament.
“Tennis has become the new golf, in terms of standing for status and quiet luxury, but with the cultural momentum of basketball,” says luxury and sportswear analyst Marcel Melzig. “It’s become the prestige sport of this generation, and that includes the wider racket sport boom around pickleball and padel, which are also seeing massive momentum.”
This is reflected in what consumers are buying. Global tennis apparel sales were up 15 per cent year-on-year in April, with women’s tennis apparel driving that trend via a 28 per cent increase, according to data from market research firm Circana. This category includes items like pleated tennis skirts, active dresses with built-in shorts, and polo shirts. “We’ve really seen it take off post-pandemic, and I think the reason we’re seeing such longevity is that tennis-inspired apparel has so many applications — it’s versatile, it’s comfortable, you can dress it up or down,” explains Circana apparel analyst Kristen Classi-Zummo.
With women driving the trend, it’s perhaps not surprising that fashion’s collaborations with female tennis players like Gauff and Naomi Osaka have garnered much attention. Osaka was already known for her inventive on-court Nike kits when she became a Louis Vuitton ambassador in 2021, often wearing their jewellery mid-play. But Gauff has freshly established herself as a style icon, taking the fashion-tennis crossover to more visible heights with her New Balance x Miu Miu collab. Since May, Gauff has been showcasing an ever-changing series of kits and shoes designed by the two brands at various tournaments. And unlike some of the custom items that are common with these partnerships, all of the pieces Gauff wears — including technical-silk zip-front hoodies, colour-blocked tennis skirt sets, and fresh iterations of her namesake CG2 sneaker — will go on sale to the public via Miumiu.com and in select Miu Miu boutiques on 10 September, following the US Open where she’s a favourite to take on the title.
“In many ways, this collaboration sets a new bar because the product is on-court, and both beautiful and technical, which is very hard to achieve,” says MacCuish. Gauff’s relatability, despite her name recognition, also helps. “Brands are looking to connect with next-gen audiences through voices that feel fresh and real,” explains Bringé. Gauff, whose priorities are not unlike other 21-year-olds — making TikToks constantly, even when you’ve just won a Grand Slam — has that ever-elusive authenticity and bond with her community that brands crave. That combination, paired with the fact that they’re showing up early in her career, made this an especially savvy brand play for Miu Miu and New Balance, says Bringé.
It’s a template that other brands would do well to follow. Despite the hype around this collaboration, Gauff is the only player in the WTA Top 10 with a luxury fashion partnership of this calibre — a reflection of the disproportionate share of the limelight and investment in the men’s game, according to MacCuish. Many experts also find the luxury collaborations on the men’s side comparatively lacking when it comes to feeling organic and exciting.
“It doesn’t feel as authentic with Sinner and Alcaraz because they’re not known for an interest in style,” said Melzig. A player simply carrying a bag could be a missed opportunity for full tennis kits, adds MacCuish.
It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Bottega Veneta does differently with Musetti, who’s already shown a natural affinity for fashion. “The men’s game could learn from the women’s right now,” said MacCuish. “If that starts happening, we know a new chapter has truly begun.”
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