Main draw action at the French Open kicked off on Sunday and sports apparel companies are more than ready to impress with their WTA outfits in the tennis fashion capital of Paris. Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog presents the latest trends set to hit the famous clay courts.
Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko will celebrate Parisian tennis heritage in adidas' high-performance collection that pays homage to Roland Garros' reputation as the "fashion tournament" by reflecting the style and elegance of tennis icons through the time.
The Latvian will return to the place of her career-changing triumph, wearing the unique coral adidas Roland Garros Tank with pleated flowy overlay and the navy Adidas Roland Garros Skirt made from engineered stretch woven fabric.
Angelique Kerber will wear the same ensemble, but her pleated tank will be in the color navy.
Kristina Mladenovic will debut the adidas Roland Garros Dress, a lightweight design made from Climachill fabric. The coral V-neck piece is a blend of modern and retro aesthetics featuring the collection’s recognizable tri-colored detailing and a pleated hem.
Caroline Wozniacki and Garbiñe Muguruza will introduce the classic black dress from the latest Barricade collection.
The adidas Summer Stella McCartney Dress indulges in signature design elements of the British designer: laser cuts, colorblocks, flared skirt, and a scuba-style zipper for an athletic look.
High-performance needs of elite players are provided by the fabric's Climachill technology and inserts along the arm holes and sides. The adidas by Stella McCartney Tank and Skirt, which stand out with their mesh panels, will also grace the French Open courts.
This year Nike found a color that looks perfect against the red clay and green backdrop at Roland Garros, so they decided to indulge in it, going for solid blue neo-turq looks that stand out with rich engineered knit which makes the outfits three-dimensional.
NikeCourt players, led by Elina Svitolina, will wear the Nike Summer Zonal Cool Slam Tank/Nike Summer Zonal Cool Slam Long Sleeve and the Nike Summer Zonal Cool Smash Skirt.
Just like the rest of Nike’s summer collection, Maria Sharapova’s Roland Garros dress is a solid blue design with textural details. The criss-crossed spaghetti straps, scalloped hemline and mesh panels at the upper chest and sides give the dress an airy and feminine feel.
Venus Williams will wear the EleVen Sprint collection, which the American debuted at the lead-up tournament in Rome.
In the promo image Venus presents the Sprint Incline Dress, a drop-waisted halter-neck design with contrast floating back bra panel.
In Paris, she’s expected to wear a variety of outfits from the new range which is recognizable for the wavy zig-zag lines in the color palette including tango red, frost grey, white, and black.
Lotto players will wear the black-and-white Batik Dress, whose abstract print is inspired by the art of decorating cloth using wax and dye. The new Lotto design introduces a bold back ruffle that gives this tennis piece the look of a dance performance dress.
Julia Goerges’ Asics Spring Speed Dress also combines just black and white, but in a subtle way, as the German’s racerback design draws attention to detail with its side vents at skirt, extended hem at back for extra coverage, square neckline and Gel-Cool technology at back.
We are used to seeing Karolina Pliskova in Fila’s traditional red, navy and white color palette, but at the 2018 French Open the Czech will embrace the Elite collection’s lilac chiffon combined with electric club print.
This promotional photo shows the "Ace Queen" in the Fila Elite Pleated Back Tank and Fila Elite Skirt.
We have already seen Sorana Cirstea’s Roland Garros dress in action at the Mutua Madrid Open and at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia. The gradient print of the New Balance Paris Print Tournament Dress is combined with white mesh double-layer skirt and black neckline and racerback, while the company logo brings a nice pop of color.
This year's French Open will display a wide variety of styles -- layers, pleats, ruffles, athletic fits and engineered knits are combined with a great range of shades and prints, showing the true richness of women's tennis fashion.
