By Jean Kirshenbaum | Monday, June 1, 2015

It was five years ago that I wrote these words for Tennis Now:

“…With the exception of Roger Federer and a few others, the men look simply slovenly, not divine. Long baggy shorts like basketball players; a day or two of stubble, like baseball players; and big baggy shirts like who? Tennis players! They sometimes use these to wipe off perspiration. Yes, you, Andy Roddick…”

My, how things have changed. Today the players on the men’s tour look—dare I say it?—natty!

Is it possible they heard my critical, caustic (and sometimes unkind) rant and roar of five years ago? Probably not, though my loyal husband gives me credit for influencing the sponsors to disarm their players and make them trade in the haphazard look for one that is befitting of the courtway models that they have become.

And why not? Nike, Adidas, Wilson, Lacoste, Fila, and the other manufacturers sponsor players because they want to sell equipment and clothes. That’s what they are in business to do. They use players as human billboard ads. It works; plenty of people buy the player brands.

In fact, the men are just as much models—and role models—as the women, not only for current players, but for future generations of players who will grow up and spend money on tennis clothes.


What a relief that all white is no longer de rigueur, as it once was. Boring. Today, fortunately, white has been whited out and replaced by a color wheel. Nevertheless, the evolution of what men wear has for at least the last decade too often has been a story of what not to wear. Stacy London and Clinton Kelly of that now-defunct style show on TLC would likely have had a lot to say.

But what grabs me about the men now is the overall look. The men have definitely cleaned up their act. You must remember when they looked like slobs in knee-length shorts, and shirts baggy enough to serve as sacks for coffee beans. Gone are the stubble and the unkempt hair in favor of the clean cut, Lands' End look.

Today we are delighted with crisp well-fitting shirts and shorts in the vibrant pantones of beach umbrellas, and imprinted with subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle patterns and designs. Think Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych.



That brings us to Gael Monfils. For him, this year, it’s low couture. Everyone—commentators and fans—have been taking notice of his French Open costume. He looks like he was drenched in a swamp of green algae. But, still, what really gets me about Monfils is his hair. Picture him in a tuxedo and he would still have the harlequin-hat hair.

Speaking of hair, an obvious differentiator is the part—side or center? Federer seems to swing back and forth, although the center part is less flattering to his face. When it comes to hair even Spaniard Nicolas Almagro is worth a mention, by changing things up, but remaining in step with the “new”, more dapper style . He has sprouted a longer do, where before his hair was so closely cropped it looked more like a tattoo than hair. And who even knew that his hair is actually wavy? Jo-Wilfried Tsonga looks like a shorn sheep, his hair is so short. I’m not complaining, but it’s just not flattering for handsome Jo. But, hey, if it’s more comfortable for his tennis, who am I to say? Go for it, Jo.

What does the well-dressed Stan wear? In rose red and gray plaid shorts, Stan Wawrinka looks like he would be just as at home on a golf course as on a tennis court. Even his sneakers look slightly like golf shoes. Let’s see how he’ll swing the racket for the rest of the tournament. Probably a lot better than a driver.



Other fashion notes:

The colors for this major are like a bowl of fruit and a vase of les fleurs: lemon, pineapple, grapefruit, lime, and melon, and lots of outfits in Taylor Swift blue-eyes blue. And did you ever see so much lilac in your life? Most of the players—men and women—have mixed it up with contrasting pink or coral narrow horizontal stripes.

Here are some other fashion winners and losers:

• Maria Sharapova dressed down in an understated in an ice blue (how fitting for the WTA ice queen!) pleated skirt, and a blue and white horizontal striped top with three-quarter length sleeves for a very cool French Open that was hovering in the mid-60s during week one. Very crisp and very French. She looked terrific, as usual.


• Serena Williams looked a little like a trussed turkey with three layers on top (two of them bras, and one of them a top?). And looking like she was seated atop a melon in a skirt the color of a cut-up cantaloupe, complete with speckled skirt.


• Agnieszka Radwanska raised eyebrows in a shiny, white bridal-satin dress with a hemline ruffle. One of the commentators—perhaps it was Martina Navratilova?—critically thought it was more a disco look. I kind of liked it, myself, but perhaps she should have saved it for Wimbledon. Recall that this 14th-seeded bride was jilted in the first round by 83rd-ranked German Annika Beck, 2-6, 6-3,1-6.

• American Madison Brengle, whose game had been heating up, looked sutured in a blue dress so tight that it formed tiers across her torso. She was threaded out of the first round by Samantha Stosur, 6-1, 6-3.

• These days, the women wear tops and dresses with so many crisscross straps and openings that players must need a dresser to help get these outfits over their heads, just as in the Victorian era women needed dressers to lace up and tighten their corsets. The outfits look great but I can’t get them on without putting my head through an armhole, so I don’t buy them. I have a friend who is assisted by her husband and she always looks good. (By the way, a racer back bra is even worse. What devil invented these bindings anyway? Even if you can get it on, after a hot and sweaty tennis match, it’s a trial to lift it over your head and get it off.)

• Ana Ivanovic, looking lovely and svelte in a little black dress, defeated Ekaterina Makarova, 7-5, 3-6-6-1. Yet the loser was really a winner in her slate gray and hot pink outfit. Speaking of pink, this has been a favorite contrasting color for many of the players, men and women.



• Speaking of black, the men seem to favor the Batman look. But, then again, black is always safe.

• I love the eye-popping multi-color shoes. To me it’s a game to see whether they match the outfit, and often they do not. My tennis friends know that I pay close attention to this because I am obsessed with coordination—socks that match visors, multi-color shoes that pick up the colors of my dress or skirt/top. (It’s been known to happen that I have unintentionally showed up to a game with a matching water bottle.)

Now I’m going to put on my simple and easy-to wear, hot pink and lilac nightgown and say goodnight.