Jannik Sinner, the ginger-haired Italian tennis maestro, has become a bit of an It Boy in the world of opulent on-court accessories since he became the first player in Wimbledon history to carry a non-white bag onto centre court back in July.
The 22-year-old, who is currently ranked number six in the world, rolled into SW1 ahead of his first-ever Grand Slam semi-final against Novak Djokovic with a custom take on Gucci’s epochal $1,550 duffle bag.
This saw Sinner become the first player to arrive on court with a non-white tennis bag in the tournament’s 146-year history.
Alas, Sinner and Gucci, which is also one of his sponsors, are back at it for this year’s US Open, after the Italian arrived ahead his first-round win against Yannick Hanfmann on August 29 carrying yet another custom Gucci number, albeit one more skewed from tradition.
Where Sinner’s Wimbledon bag carried all the hallmarks of a classic Gucci duffle — beige and ebony monogram, leather detailing with Gucci script logo — his US Open iteration was cast with a more unfamiliar blue and yellow in place of the traditional green and red, with his initials embroidered into the leather.
Naturally, Sinner’s Gucci collaborations have garnered widespread coverage since its debut earlier this year, not least because the duffle required special approval from Wimbledon officials, the International Tennis Federation, and the ATP Tour.
But hey, it’s all in the name of fashion, right? And, if anything, tennis was in dire need of a sprinkling of splendor across both its apparel and accessories. And now finally, thanks to Sinner (and Carlos Alcaraz, of course), the sport is most definitely serving. Pun intended.
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