When brands choose to sponsor a sporting event, they earn the coveted status of “official.” Some pairings are clearly based on volume: Budweiser is the official beer of Nascar. Others seem to make a more natural, even conceptual fit, and Polo Ralph Lauren’s status as the official apparel sponsor of the U.S. Open is a prime example.

Both enterprises represent the top of their industries: The Open, which kicks off next week, is this country’s premier tennis tournament, and the Ralph Lauren company, which this year is celebrating its 40th anniversary, is a bootstraps success story. But the conceptual level on which they work well together is that they tap into an ideal American world of living well with energy and style.

Since its founding in 1967, Ralph Lauren has contributed to the definition of American chic. The brand began with just a collection of neckties and quickly expanded to include a full line of menswear. Then, in 1970, Mr. Lauren designed a line of women’s clothing — a project that began with tailored shirts inspired by his wife Ricky’s style and shape. One year later, the opening of the Polo store in Beverly Hills made Ralph Lauren the first American fashion designer with his own freestanding store. Since then, the company has been at the forefront of retail; the brand has a multiplicity of labels at various price points for men and women, as well as products for homes, children, and sports.

It’s the brand’s powerful visual symbols, however, that matter more than its size or speedy growth. The clothing had a firm base in English style and tradition — but the designer gave those tweed suits and dapper vests a New World dash. By placing the polo-player logo on the signature mesh shirt, which was launched in 24 colors in 1972, the brand gave Americans inexpensive access to the idea of British aristocracy. If it was in imitation or homage, what did it matter? Here was a balance of the past and the present, elegance and physicality, that made the brand unlike anything that had come before it.

The story of the man himself also became a legendary example of the rise to the top. Born in the Bronx to a middle-class family, he started out as an employee at a necktie manufacturer. He later created a name and an image that took him well beyond his humble beginnings. His lifestyle — vintage cars in Montauk and horseback riding in Colorado balanced by city living in Manhattan — shores up the brand: unpretentious, timeless, American.

It’s an approach to style that also meshes well with the image of the U.S. Open. Tennis in this country has been viewed for generations as a sport for the country club set, where Polo shirts reigned as a status symbol. While the notion of tennis as an exclusive sport is changing, so too has this country’s major tournament. Each year, attendance figures increase, and the United States Tennis Association promotes the star quality of the players in its efforts to market the event. On the international tour, the U.S. Open has a specific character: The crowd has a reputation for being loud and expressive — as opposed to, say, the quiet at Wimbledon or the Frenchiness at Roland Garros.

Ralph Lauren’s sponsorship of the U.S. Open began in 2005. As the official apparel sponsor, this means the on-court ball persons and officials are dressed in uniforms designed by Polo Ralph Lauren. The public can also buy U.S. Open gear designed by the label. In 2006, Polo Ralph Lauren also became the official outfitter of Wimbledon — and the difference is noticeable. For Wimbledon, the looks are as restrained and refined as the British clothing that originally inspired the designer back in the late 1960s. Long skirts, sharp navy blue jackets, and discreet logos defined the look. For the U.S. Open, the look is vivid and bold: The Polo logo is splashed above the left breast in a giant size, and several navy blue items are lined in bright yellow.

The contrast gives the American event an image that seems a little more brash and aggressive, which indeed it is. When Ralph Lauren blew up the polo-player logo from about one inch to three in height, it represented a forward step for design. In style terms, it gave an upscale audience something new to buy, but it also illustrated the fascination with the new — a quality that drives commerce and innovation.

Other sponsors of the tennis event may be doing the same in their own way, but after 40 years in the game, Polo Ralph Lauren has the advantage of being an American icon. What it creates continues to shape the tastes and style of the day.

Let Nascar have Budweiser.

pcatton@nysun.com