ATP Athlete Arrivals: Fashion takes centre court at Indian Wells
ATP Athlete Arrivals: Fashion takes centre court at Indian Wells
ATP Athlete Arrivals: Fashion takes centre court at Indian Wells
The ATP has launched its new fashion-forward pre-game ritual, providing players with a creative platform to express their personal style as they arrive at tournament venues across the world.
Launched at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Athlete Arrivals capture ATP stars in styled, dedicated off court outfits as they arrive at tournaments, with the debut edition featuring Taylor Fritz, Jakub Mensik, Alexander Zverev, Frances Tiafoe, Andrey Rublev, Francisco Cerundolo, Zizou Bergs and Alex Michelsen.
In the build-up to Indian Wells, former GQ Fashion Director, Mobolaji Dawodu worked with several of the athletes to help define each players’ personal brand style, curate a bespoke look for their upcoming arrival moments and capture editorial photography for their social channels. The collaboration was delivered through ATP Styling Studios, another key part of the ATP’s fashion strategy, which offers players premium one-to-one styling sessions with fashion industry leaders.
<img alt=”Frances Tiafoe arriving on site for the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/03/05/20/27/tiafoe-indian-wells-2026-fashion-hero-horizontal.jpg” />
The ATP’s fashion strategy is underpinned by three core areas: events, athletes and content. Events will focus on areas including the Athlete Arrivals moments at tournaments, relevant cultural events and potential collaborations. The athlete focus will be on creating further ATP Styling Studios moments and fashion crossover opportunities with brands and media for the players. The content pillar will aim to establish media partnerships and content collaborations for the players, including dedicated fashion content that will be amplified in the future through the ATP’s partnerships with TikTok, Spotify, Overtime and a network of individual creators.
The Indian Wells activation is the first in a number of fashion-forward Athlete Arrivals at select tournaments in 2026, culminating at the Nitto ATP Finals. Upcoming editions will feature up to 10 players at the Miami Open presented by Itau and the Mutua Madrid Open. In Miami, the ATP will bring its partnership with iconic fashion-sport brand Lacoste into the fashion strategy, collaborating on bespoke looks for Lacoste ambassador, Grigor Dimitrov and bringing this to life through custom content captured on the city’s streets.
Andrew Walker, ATP Senior Vice President of Brand & Marketing, said: “Fashion is deeply rooted in the culture of tennis and creating moments that allow our players to express their own personal style presents a unique opportunity to position tennis within wider cultural conversations and open it up to new audiences. This builds on the success of our Styling Studio, which we initially launched as a pilot ahead of the 2025 US Open. It has shown us there’s huge demand among our fans for fashion-facing content. With a global pool of athletes and strong visual identity, we’re well placed to lean into this space, bringing new fans into the sport and strengthening our players’ brands in the process.”
The expansion of the ATP’s fashion strategy marks a significant step in the ATP’s move into the fashion and lifestyle space, which has included the creation of a dedicated licensing and retail team and launch of ATP Store, a global e-commerce shopping destination for tennis apparel and accessories.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The 2026 BNP Paribas Open began Wednesday, when Denis Shapovalov, Joao Fonseca and Gael Monfils were among those to advance to the second round in Indian Wells.
View all of the results from Wednesday at the ATP Masters 1000 event below.
Read More from Indian Wells:
Fonseca: I’m feeling healthy & happy on court again’
Shapovalov ‘had to come out on fire’ to beat Tsitsipas
Giron on Agassi’s support: ‘You don’t want to let him down’
Results – Wednesday, 04 March 2026
Men’s Singles – Round of 96
ATP – Reilly Opelka (USA) d Ethan Quinn (USA) 75 76(3)
ATP – Matteo Berrettini (ITA) d Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 46 75 75
ATP – Denis Shapovalov (CAN) d Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 62 36 64
ATP – Camilo Ugo Carabelli (ARG) d [WC] Martin Damm (USA) 76(5) 63
ATP – [WC] Zachary Svajda (USA) d Marin Cilic (CRO) 76(5) 64
ATP – [WC] Gael Monfils (FRA) d [Q] Alexis Galarneau (CAN) 63 64
ATP – Joao Fonseca (BRA) d Raphael Collignon (BEL) 76(2) 64
ATP – Marcos Giron (USA) d Mariano Navone (ARG) 46 75 63
ATP – Gabriel Diallo (CAN) d Mattia Bellucci (ITA) 76(5) 64
ATP – Jenson Brooksby (USA) d Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 63 64
ATP – Adam Walton (AUS) d Quentin Halys (FRA) 63 63
ATP – Zizou Bergs (BEL) d Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 63 64
ATP – Marton Fucsovics (HUN) d [Q] Christopher O’Connell (AUS) 75 63
ATP – Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) d Daniel Altmaier (GER) 63 10 Retired
ATP – [Q] Dalibor Svrcina (CZE) d James Duckworth (AUS) 62 64
ATP – [Q] Dino Prizmic (CRO) d [Q] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS) 76(5) 36 75
February’s packed calendar gave the ATP Tour’s top names plenty of chances to light up the court, producing a stream of jaw-dropping moments in contention for the Hot Shot of the Month presented by Yokohama honour.
In Montpellier, Felix Auger-Aliassime brought the crowd to its feet with a breathtaking, full-extension winner en route to the title. Meanwhile, #NextGenATP standout Joao Fonseca thrilled his home fans in Rio de Janeiro, capping a pulsating rally that ignited the Brazilian faithful.
The ATP 500 event in Dallas delivered more magic. Taylor Fritz wowed spectators with a brilliant behind-the-back effort, and just two days later on the same court, Adrian Mannarino threaded an audacious tweener beyond Ben Shelton to leave fans stunned.
Watch the video below and then cast your vote for your favourite Hot Shot here. Voting closes at 12 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. CET on Tuesday, 10 March.
“Jo-ao Fon-se-ca! Jo-ao Fon-se-ca!”
The Joao Fonseca anthem rang loudly throughout the 19-year-old’s 7-6(2), 6-4 win against Raphael Collignon Wednesday evening in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open. Whether between points and games, during changeovers or well after the match, the spirited crowd lifted the two-time ATP Tour singles champion on its figurative shoulders and championed him to victory.
“I just try to push with as much energy as I can,” Fonseca told ATPTour.com. “I just try to bring them to me to give me strength to keep going.”
The chant has followed Fonseca around the world, with fans across the globe throwing their support around the surging star. According to the Brazilian, he first began feeling such support at a junior tournament played at his home facility, the Rio de Janeiro Country Club.
“It was the first time that I felt very, very pressured, because I was the first seed and I was getting a wild card to the main draw of Roland Garos juniors,” Fonseca said. “I won the tournament and it was the first time in my club that a lot of people were cheering for me. I felt a little bit of pressure, of course, but it was fun.”
<img alt=”Joao Fonseca” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2026/03/05/10/24/fonseca-indian-wells-2026-wednesday-fans.jpg?h=1080&w=1920″ />
The teen fondly recalled memories from his younger days in the sport, hitting the ball as hard as he could. Sometimes the ball would land in, but many times it would fly into the back fence.
Today, Fonseca has learned to rein in his power and unleash it against the best players in the world. That has helped him to a career-high No. 24 in the PIF ATP Rankings and an ATP 500 title last October in Basel.
“It was always my thing to hit hard,” Fonseca said. “Mostly on the important points when a little bit of pressure comes, I wanted to go for it. I wanted to do what I normally practised, not only [push] the ball. I was always like this and that’s going to be me for forever. That’s a thing I can’t change.
“I just need to be more solid, of course, and more consistent. I need to improve with the consistency, but that’s me, I can’t change.”
[NO 1 CLUB]Fonseca arrived at the season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event with a 1-3 record for the season according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. But the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals champion was dealing with a back injury and showed signs of an uptick in Rio de Janeiro, where he partnered countryman Marcelo Melo to the doubles title.
Now the crowd favourite is into the second round in the California desert and gathering momentum with the ‘Sunshine Double’ under way.
“It’s always good. After the first two months of the year, I’ve been struggling a little bit with injury, and then back [getting the] rhythm,” Fonseca said. “I’m feeling healthy again, feeling happy back on court again. I’m just feeling good and very happy the way that I played today.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Denis Shapovalov’s reaction said it all Wednesday evening in Indian Wells. The Canadian was thrilled after battling past Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to win a clash of former Top-10 stars and reach the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.
“Definitely never easy to draw a guy like Stefanos first round. I think for both of us it was a very tough matchup” Shapovalov said in his post-match interview. “I knew I had to come out and play my ‘A game’ and come out on fire. It’s never easy to do that in the first rounds, but luckily I was able to do that today. Definitely very happy with the win.”
The lefty walked on court in primetime with a 4-2 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against the former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who was unseeded at an ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time since 2018 in Cincinnati. Shapovalov powered to a 6-2 lead and broke Tsitsipas’ serve immediately in the second set.
The Greek showed why he is a three-time Masters 1000 champion, clawing back to force a deciding set. But with the momentum switching, Shapovalov was able to reclaim control of points and earn a second-round meeting with 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
“It’s tough. First round, you get the first-round jitters a little bit and up a set and a break there got ahead of myself a little bit, started thinking of the outcomes of the points a little bit too much and tried to play it a bit too safe,” Shapovalov said. “Played a loose game and you know a guy like that is going to come back and elevate his game, play some great tennis. Definitely very happy I was able to close that out.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]British number one Emma Raducanu says she wants to “bring my instincts back out” as she prepares for Indian Wells in California.
There are thousands of fans around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden watching the world’s best tennis players. One of them at the BNP Paribas Open Wednesday happened to be ATP No. 1 Club member Andre Agassi.
The 2001 Indian Wells champion was courtside on Stadium 4 to watch American Marcos Giron rally for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory against Mariano Navone.
“You don’t want to let him down if he’s coming out and supporting you. You definitely want to put on a good performance,” Giron told ATPTour.com. “After losing the first there’s part of me like, ‘You can’t lose’. That would kind of suck if he comes out and you don’t perform well. But he just wants players to be the best of themselves.
“I know that winning or losing, it’s not about that even though you want to do it. But it’s what can you really do in the real time.”
This was not the first time Giron has enjoyed Agassi’s presence in his box. Two years ago in Newport, the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was there for the home favourite, who eventually lifted the trophy.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Giron said. “I couldn’t imagine 10 years ago that I’d be playing here at Indian Wells and he’d be there in the box on Stadium 4 watching me play first round of the tournament.”
Giron has spent plenty of time with Agassi in Las Vegas over the years and they keep in touch while not together. So what is it like to have a 60-time tour-level titlist in his corner?
“He sees the game on levels. He can dive into all those details,” Giron said. “But during the match, it depends on what’s needed. Usually it’s more about just being present and the few adjustments to go for.”
<img alt=”Marcos Giron and Andre Agassi” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/07/20/05/04/giron-agassi-newport-2024.jpg” />
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Matteo Berrettini cramped immediately after his final shot en route to a first-round win Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open, sealing victory at the perfect moment.
Upon clinching his 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win against Adrian Mannarino, the Italian fell to the ground in pain and sat there for roughly five minutes while receiving a visit from the ATP supervisor and physio. Smiling in relief despite the pain, Berrettini left everything on court to earn a second-round showdown against fourth seed Alexander Zverev.
“I fought really hard, until the very last point,” Berrettini said in his on-court interview. “At the beginning of the third [set], I started to feel a little bit of cramping. I was little bit surprised at the beginning but then I remembered that I was sick until three days ago, so I was like, ‘Okay, it’s normal’.”
Berrettini entered the match 0-2 against Mannarino and the Frenchman started Wednesday’s clash by winning his sixth consecutive set against the Italian. The 29-year-old then leaned on his backhand slice to set up opportunities for his booming forehand, while also dropping just five points behind his first serve in the decider, according to Infosys ATP Stats, to advance.
Berrettini will next look to improve upon his 3-4 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Zverev.
In other action, Gael Monfils became the second-oldest match winner (39 years, six months) in tournament history by ousting Alexis Galarneau 6-3, 6-4. Only Ivo Karlovic (40) was older when he reached the fourth round in 2019.
The Frenchman will meet ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.
Reilly Opelka won an all-American clash against Ethan Quinn 7-5, 7-6(3) while Jenson Brooksby downed Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-4. Gabriel Diallo defeated Mattia Bellucci 7-6(5), 6-4 and Zizou Bergs was a 6-3, 6-4 winner against Jan-Lennard Struff.
Novak Djokovic arrives at the BNP Paribas Open ready to compete for the first time since his run to the Australian Open final. The Serbian’s fortnight Down Under reaffirmed his belief that he remains a force on the sport’s biggest stages, and against his younger rivals Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
In Melbourne, Djokovic dispatched two-time defending champion Sinner in five sets before falling to World No. 1 Alcaraz in the championship match. The 38-year-old could rematch Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semi-finals should the seeds hold.
“That was an amazing start of the year for me,” Djokovic said during his pre-tournament press conference. “Considering that I haven’t been able to reach [a major final] since Wimbledon 2024, and lost to either Sinner or Alcaraz at all of the Slams last year, it was just an incredible feeling to be able to beat Sinner in five sets in one of the [most] epic matches that I played in recent times in Australia. And then, having another great match with Carlos, who was just too good in the end.
“For me, that has been a phenomenal result. I have proven to myself primarily, and to others, that I can still compete at the highest level and beat these guys. So my logic is why not keep going as long as I have that fire and flair and quality and also motivation to do that.”
Making his 17th appearance in Indian Wells, the five-time champion Djokovic is aiming to break his tie with Roger Federer for most titles in tournament history.
“I have had a fair amount of success in this tournament,” said Djokovic, who boasts a 51-11 tournament record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. “It has always been one of my favourite tournaments to visit. With the great weather, facilities, location and proximity to L.A. — one of the best cities to visit — and the history of the event. It’s really a Tennis Paradise here, so rightfully named that way.”
[NO 1 CLUB]Djokovic, seeded third, will begin his tournament against Pole Kamil Majchrzak or hefty-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The winner of 101 tour-level titles and record holder of 428 weeks spent as World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Djokovic is excited for another opportunity.
“I really enjoy the thrill of competition. I enjoy still getting out there in front of the fans and really being competitive,” Djokovic said. “Still No. 3 of the world, so I don’t think it’s too bad, in terms of the ranking and results and performances. I still have that edge and I’ll keep on going as long as I feel like it.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]