Tennis News

Having seen in action all the clothes bound to bring a new twist to Paris’ reputation as the fashion capital of the world, Marija Zivlak of Women’s Tennis Blog made a selection of the best styles and now it’s your turn to tell us your thoughts – vote for your favorite outfit right here!

The most striking collection of the tournament has definitely been adidas’ Y-3 Roland Garros collection, better known as the zebra collection, even though the designer Yohji Yamamoto’s inspiration were not the elegant African animals, but dazzle painting used for ship camouflage in World War I and World War II.

The distinctive black and white stripes bring movement and fluidity to the attire and the 2008 French Open champion Ana Ivanovic is the most graceful and elegant zebra on the loose in the adidas Roland Garros Y-3 On Court Dress which features faux red braces at back.

“I actually really like it. The cut is beautiful in the dress, and I think it looks very feminine,” the Serb said about her eye-catching outfit. “The design also supports my favourite club, Partizan Belgrade. I really like it. It was very comfortable to play in.”

Another dominant member of the zebra family is Simona Halep, rocking the printed Y-3 tank and a solid black skirt with layered jacquard mesh overlay.

Players rocking adidas have been equipped with limited-edition adizero Y-3 shoes, which blend style and performance to make players feel confident, ensuring quick, safe and comfortable movement for hours of court wear.

Eugenie Bouchard’s sleeveless polo dress is reinventing a traditional polo look and the fresh approach to the classic style is nothing short of stunning. This NikeCourt Premier Advantage Dress features a lovely mock collar with two-button placket for a personalized fit, while split hem and racerback provide ease of movement. The soft performance pique fabric brings a flowy feel, keeping players dry and comfortable.

The Canadian’s footwear of choice are these unisex Nike Air Zoom Ultrafly shoes, nicely matching the complete hyper cobalt look.

Serena Williams opted to remove the mid-back mesh panel of her NikeCourt Premier Dress, making the outfit extra edgy and no other player could pull off those side cutouts better than the World No.1.

To complete the stunning effect, Nike created these NikeCourt Flare shoes, offering supreme ankle support during explosive, agile and quick movements. The rose details adorning the swoosh are inspired by the tennis icon’s ever-blossoming career.

Venus Williams’ EleVen Geo Swirl Dress has an exceptionally flattering shape featuring a high neckline with an edgy narrow cut, contrast binding at waist and a flowing fit at the skirt. The abstract print features light orange elements, to nicely match the French Open clay.

Agnieszka Radwanska merged her ninja game with the soft feminine energy of Lotto’s limited-edition Lacy line. Technical perforated fabric with a lace effect makes this item fashionable without putting performance in the backdrop, while ruffled skirt brings the extra touch of flirtiness.

The Pole’s vigorous on-court movement is supported by new SS16 Stratosphere shoe model, the latest innovation in Lotto tennis. The speed-oriented shoe studied for high-level players ensures optimal level of cushioning, improved adaptability to different weight of athletes and maximum transpiration.

Double trouble ? time for doubles with @Gibbsyyyy pic.twitter.com/6uMDVyqzyW

— Heather Watson (@HeatherWatson92) May 26, 2016

The New Balance Tournament Dress made my April’s best dressed list, but it’s not too much to include it in the French Open fashion favorites as well, since the item, worn by Heather Watson and Nicole Gibbs in their first-round clash and then when they joined forces in doubles, is truly outstanding.

The classic navy is revived with white stripes, as well as with a subtle functional detail in the form of an “N” houndstooth burnout mesh at back. Modern thin racerback straps, clean finish neckline with mesh and NB DRY technology which efficiently wicks sweat away make this a genuinely refreshing design that stays true to sports fashion while adding just the right amount of stylish touches that rule contemporary tennis clothing trends.

A little bit of color provided by the 996v2 shoes and accessories is propelling this look to the very top of tennis fashion scene this clay-court season.

With Fila’s Jelena Jankovic out in the first round, when the weather was so cold that players wore long sleeves over their dresses, we saw pretty much nothing of Marion Bartoli’s Love Fila Tennis Dress inspired by Paris, but the brand’s Fila Spring Gingham Racerback Dress, as seen here on Irina-Camelia Begu, brought a ton of style with a classic racerback dress in gingham pattern, enhanced by the perfect peacoat navy contrast piping and pleats at bottom hem. Brigitte Bardot famously wore a pink gingham dress at her wedding, making the pattern so popular that France ran out of it. Will Fila manage to emulate the actress’ success?

BOL, Croatia – This week wtatennis.com is offering free live streaming from the inaugural Bol Open, staged on the picturesque Adriatic island of Brac.

Watch free live streaming from Bol all week right here!

Bol is the second of six WTA 125K Series events scheduled for 2016, and, despite coinciding with the second week of Roland Garros, has a few familiar faces in the draw. Heading the list of seeds are Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Varvara Lepchenko, both of whom will be looking to get their campaign back on track after a difficult few months.

The WTA 125K Series has provided the platform that helped launch the careers of some of the brightest young talents on the tour, as Kristina Mladenovic and Elina Svitolina – the winners of the inaugural events, in Taipei and Pune – proved by establishing themselves in the Top 30.

Vying with Schmiedlova and Lepchenko this week will be a couple of gifted prospects, including Nao Hibino and Ana Konjuh, as well as more established names such as Australian Open quarterfinalist Zhang Shuai.

Watch them attempt to follow in Mladenovic’s and Svitolina’s footsteps all week here on wtatennis.com!

WTA World No.3 Karolina Pliskova is looking forward to getting her Qatar Total Open challenge underway against Caroline Garcia on Wednesday despite the ever constant threat of rain looming large over the tournament.

Persistent showers wiped out almost the entire day of first round action on Tuesday and the tournament now has a backlog of matches to make up with Pliskova scheduled last on centre court on Wednesday.

With her match being pushed back, Pliskova admits it will be to her advantage to have more rest and preparation time than her first round opponent, who now has to play twice in a day having beaten Madison Brengle.

“I just had my practices today, which was important for me,” said Pliskova on Tuesday. “I was trying to start early so I can hit on the court and get little bit used to it because we were playing indoors. It was a little bit different. I think even if they don’t finish today, they still have to play this match tomorrow. So that would definitely be an advantage for me if they play two matches in a day.

“Obviously the weather can change so fast. In Czech is minus 10, so with me this weather is fine. Just the rain is not good for tennis, so hopefully it can get better and we can finish all the matches on time.”

Pliskova’s second-round opponent has decided not to take part in the Fed Cup this year, a tournament the Czech is passionate about. But for Pliskova, the decision is not one that bothers her.

“It’s tough always to decide if to play or not. We played this time, we played home, which was much easier for me, you know, to play. So we didn’t have to travel anywhere far. But still I came here pretty late.

“I don’t think it’s a bad idea that she didn’t play. Sometimes it can help you, but sometimes, like I said, it’s difficult to put it in the schedule because there’s a lot of tournaments. It’s not always easy in the week of Fed Cup. You can have lot of matches, tough matches. I think both decisions are fine. There is always something positive about it. But I think this week, what I’ve played has been good. I had two wins. But maybe it’s also good to prepare for the tournament like she did.”

BOL, Croatia – A quartet of Americans shined in the Croatian sun at the Bol Open, a WTA 125K Series event staged in the coastal town of Bol, Croatia. No.2 seed Varvara Lepchenko, Anna Tatishvili, Sachia Vickery and Jennifer Brady took advantage of the famously mild Adriatic climate and all notched wins at the inaugural event.

Watch free live streaming from Bol, Croatia all week right here on wtatennis.com!

The No.2 seeded Lepchenko tamped down a late surge from Croatian wildcard Ana Vrljic on her way to a 6-1, 7-5 victory. Despite Vrljic keeping the score line more competitive in the second set, the American showed more consistency during the key points throughout the match – Lepchenko converted on all five of the break chances she created, compared to Vrljic’s two of seven.

Earlier in the day, Anna Tatishvili survived a two-hour-and-forty-minute battle against Paula Kania to advance 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5. Her countrywomen Sachia Vickery and Jennifer Brady had a more straightforward road to the second round, advancing past both of their opponents in straight sets. Vickery posted a 6-2, 7-5 win against Croatian wildcard Tena Lukas while Brady scored the upset of the day over No.8 seed Patricia Maria Tig.

Ipek Soylu – who made Turkish tennis history at the French Open when she became one of two players to compete in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time – was back to her winning ways in Bol against Israel’s Julia Glushko. Soylu weathered a second-set shutout to come back with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 win.

Also through to the second round are Stefanie Voegele, who defeated Andreaa Mitu 6-3, 6-2; Ivana Jorovic, who defeated qualifier Isabella Shiniakova 7-5, 6-2; and Bulgarian qualifier Elitza Kostova, who defeated qualifier Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-1, 7-6(4).

Tomorrow the No.1 seed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova and Croatian favorite Ana Konjuh highlight Day 3 action as they take the court in their Bol openers.