Runway at Flushing: U.S. Open Has Become a Lucrative and Creative Fashion Parade

Naomi Osaka strode onto center court at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York, wearing a light gray hoodie and white skirt with her hair braided in cornrows beneath a raised hood.The wardrobe made by streetwear label Who Decides War and curated by celebrity image architect Law Roach featured newspaper clippings woven into the fabric, paying homage to NBA legend Allen Iverson.Moments after she stepped onto the court Monday night, a photo of her wearing the outfit was posted on her Instagram titled simply: “The Answer.”“For me, he’s a trailblazer,” Ms. Osaka told reporters of Mr. Iverson, who reshaped the NBA’s cultural dress code in the early 2000s. “He’s someone I look up to a lot because he’s done a lot in fashion, whether on purpose or not. It shifted the way NBA players dress, and I think the whole conversation around clothes in sports is about expressing yourself through style.”Mr. Iverson took notice, reposting, “Wow, what an honor! BIG FAN can’t wait to meet you.”It was a headline-grabbing entrance, but not an isolated one. The U.S. Open is no longer just the final Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season. It has evolved into a high-stakes fashion parade where fans flock to Flushing to see what the athletes are wearing just as much as how they perform.Earlier in the tournament, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka wore a custom jewelry collection provided by Material Good that featured 18-carat gold, sapphires, and gemstones valued at more than $400,000. On the apparel side, she debuted a basketball inspired bright orange mesh set designed by Nike, echoing the sport-themed collections the brand previously rolled out. Some online critics called it “trashy.” The top player in women’s tennis doesn’t care.“I love that it’s different,” she said in New York. “I love that this outfit is bold. “Whatever people are saying on the internet, who cares. All that matters to me is that I love it. Plus, it’s really cool for pictures, too.”Meanwhile, men’s singles favorite Carlos Alcaraz, sported a blue-and-orange Nike ensemble referencing the 2026 NBA Champion New York Knicks, while Frances Tiafoe continued his trend of wearing bold colors and unconventional designs from Lululemon. American tennis player Iva Jovic used the U.S. Open to debut a plum-toned Adidas bubble skirt, paired with a matching jacket and visor, while Serena Williams also paid homage to the Knicks, wearing a mesh tennis skirt inspired by the oversized basketball shorts made popular in the 1990s.Yet, beneath the glamour lies a growing commercial reality: the U.S. Open has become the sport’s most aggressive marketing hub.Sponsors, designers, and brand managers pour millions into custom apparel for the players to wear and off-court events for them to attend in hopes of capturing consumer attention. For elite players, the circuit of brand parties, social media shoots, and product launches are nearly as important at the competition.Prior to serving a single competitive ball, players reportedly could be found serving pasta in SoHo, competing in celebrity table tennis matches, or appearing at luxury hotel galas across Manhattan. Matteo Berrettini served food at the Lotte New York Palace, while Ms. Sabalenka even attended a lookalike contest featuring fans — and one dog — dressed in her signature court attire.The financial incentive for players is undeniable. Philippine star Alex Eala, for instance, has generated off-court endorsement revenue that vastly eclipses her career prize money, driven in part by her signature U.S. Open collection selling out online before the tournament began.Court fashion as a vehicle for identity and empowerment is a legacy built largely by Ms. Williams. From her iconic 2004 pleated denim miniskirt and sneaker boots to her 2018 Nike cat suit and off-white Nike tutu dress, Ms. Williams used fashion to break the sport’s historically conservative aesthetic boundaries.“Style was always part of how Serena showed up,” Ms. Williams’s longtime stylist, Kesha McLeod, told Elle. “For a long time, tennis was only about the game. With Serena, what she wore on court was part of who she was, not something added on. Playing it safe was never going to be enough for her.”Ms. McLeod sees direct historical threads connecting Ms. Williams’s groundbreaking court statements to today’s generation of expressive champions. “When I look at Coco with Miu Miu, or Naomi working with designers like Richard Quinn, I see Serena and Venus in it,” Ms. McLeod added. “So much of what Serena was doing has become the norm. These young women get to treat fashion as part of their identity because she helped make that normal.”Thanks to Ms. Williams, for players commanding the center stage, the U.S. Open has become the ultimate platform where winning the match and winning the outfit carry almost equal weight.

Runway at Flushing: U.S. Open Has Become a Lucrative and Creative Fashion Parade

Runway at Flushing: U.S. Open Has Become a Lucrative and Creative Fashion Parade

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