We’ve all been there: worn something that we wish we hadn’t, only to have pictures of our mistake permanently ingrained on Facebook to haunt us for the rest of our lives. Well, tennis players face the same predicament — just on a much grander scale.
This week at the BNP Paribas Open, we’ve seen some unfortunate apparel disasters from some of tennis’ biggest names, and we’ll give you the full (and hilarious!) rundown, starting with the one and only Jelena Jankovic.
When Jelena Jankovic stepped onto Stadium 2 on Friday, not only did she catch her opponent Svetlana Kuznetsova off guard (she served her first set bagel), but Twitter exploded with puns regarding Jankovic’s kit. Bottom line: When your skirt looks like a legitimate stand-in for the mops at a carwash, you know there’s a problem.
Unfortunately, fellow Fila athlete Julia Goerges suffered the same skirt fate on Saturday during her own second round win. The colors and design of the top are good, but they detract heavily from the unfortunate carwash skirt.
Keeping with the somewhat “cheerleading” theme, Chanelle Scheepers looked more like she belonged on the NBA’s Sacramento Kings dance lineup than a tennis court.
With the drop in temperatures on Friday, the ladies came out in full legging force. While a few of them were able to pull it off (ahem, Maria Sharapova’s was passable), several decided to pair their kits with black leggings, which already had some sort of random design. Marion Bartoli and Francesca Schiavone were two of the worst offenders and the outcome was not pleasant on the eyes in any way, shape or form.
Another legging offender was the usually do-no-wrong Maria Kirilenko, but boy did her legging/skirt combination do A LOT of wrong this time around. When she dipped low in her yellow lizard leggings, it made her legs look like something out of Dr. Seuss book. And the stark delineation between the leggings and shorts make it look all the more extraterrestrial.
Leather on a tennis court is never a goo—- Oh, wait. How did this get in here? Moving along …
In the case of David Nalbandian‘s Topper kit, “X” does NOT mark the spot. It could have done without a few of those criss-crossed lines.
Petra Kvitova may not be debuting this kit at the BNP Paribas Open, but the Nike color block of orange and purple simply don’t work for the Czech lady. From the starry two-tone top to a skirt that doesn’t even match the neon orange on the shirt/sweat bands/shoes, this kit is all wrong for her — or anybody, for that matter. Kvitova has always looked good in simple lines and colors, and this attempt to spice her up has failed miserably. Good form on that wide forehand though, Petra.
Lleyton Hewitt‘s very own clothing line “C’mon” has missed the mark as well. The shoulders take a cue from Andy Murray’s adidas kit, and the frontal design just adds to the confusion. It’s just a little too much going on for any one shirt.
Vania King had the potential to be “pretty in pink” with her kit, but instead her clothing sponsor made her look like she got into a serious fight with a pink tiger, claw marks and all. And I can’t figure out if that skirt is suede or just makes really awkward sweat stains. You decide.
Laura Robson‘s all-white kit is also not new as she wore it at the Australian Open, but that is part of the problem. While the lines themselves are great, the color is what bothers me. Not only should all-white be reserved almost exclusively for Wimbledon, but come summer, adidas will have had Robson in all white all year! What fun is it putting a rising sparkling 19-year-old in a dull tone for that much of the season?
Much like Robson above, Lacoste decided to put John Isner in oversimplified colors: black and white. And what a mistake — it sent him home on his first match in Indian Wells after having reached the final here last year. Lacoste has been doing great yet simple designs the last few years; let’s hope this was just a momentary oversight.
Agree/Disagree? Did I miss any fashion disasters from this year’s BNP Paribas Open? Sound off in the comments below!
