Tennis Stars and The Watches They Wear
Due to the ongoing pandemic and the spread of Covid-19, many of the world’s much-anticipated tennis tournaments have been canceled or postponed indefinitely. This leaves tennis players (and followers) around the world feeling no love.
However, it doesn’t stop us from taking a look at some tennis legends, current stars and up-and-comers – many of whom are friends of watch brands or watch brand ambassadors. Maybe you’ve wondered what is Roger Federer’s watch, or Rafael Nadal’s watch? In fact, athlete watches are often sought after by followers of the star. Here, we take a look at a host of tennis stars and the watches they wear.
Roger Federer
Roger Federer’s watch of choice is Rolex. Considered one of the greatest tennis athletes of all time, Federer is a Career Grand Slam winner – and a friend of the brand for Rolex. It is a fitting relationship not only because Federer and Rolex are on the never-ending quest for perfection, but also because both are Swiss. Federer’s watch of choice: a Rolex Oyster Perpetual Datejust. He’s been spotted wearing the 41mm version in two-tone steel and 18-karat yellow gold with an Oyster bracelet.
Rolex is easily the biggest player in the watch world to be involved with tennis and has been for more than 40 years. It is the Official Timekeeper of Wimbledon, the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, the U.S. Open Tennis Championships, and of many other tournaments around the world. As such, the brand has a host of tennis stars on its roster, including not only Roger Federer but also Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Grigor Dimitrov, Caroline Wozniacki (who has been seen wearing an 18-carat Everose gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sky-Dweller), Nitto, and many more – almost a dozen in total.
Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal’s watch of choice is a super expensive piece built by Richard Mille, a brand that insists that all of its brand ambassadors wear their watches during play. Rafael Nadal is one of the most successful tennis players to date, and also one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. The Spanish-born Nadal wears his $725,000 RM 27-03 watch on the courts during play and off the courts, as well. It is a bright orange watch built to withstand the G forces and pounding it takes as Nadal whips the tennis ball back and forth across the courts. The movement inside is cased in a secondary cage that offers a little sway with the movement of the wrist so that it doesn’t break.
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic watch is actually the Seiko Astron Executive Sport Novak Djokovic GPS S (solar-powered) watch. He has been a brand ambassador for Seiko for years, and the collaboration naturally extended to a watch that bears his name. The limited-edition world timer features the signature of this multi-time Grand Slam winner on the back. The UTC codes for the world timer feature four cities that host Grand Slam tournaments that Novak has won.
Serena Williams
An Audemars Piguet brand ambassador for years, Serena Williams has won more than 20 Grand Slam singles titles during her career. She has been seen wearing a few different Audemars Piguet watches, such as the 18-karat rose gold Royal Oak Offshore with diamonds, and one or two of its unique high-jewelry watches on special occasions. I had the great opportunity to interview Williams a few years ago and she was sporting the Royal Oak Offshore in gold with a white rubber strap. It was definitely chic.
Simona Halep
Another female tennis player, Simona Halep, who hails from Romania, is a friend of the Hublot brand. After winning her second Grand Slam title, she was seen wearing a Big Bang One Click Italian Independent Dark Blue Velvet Hublot watch, but she has also been seen wearing the highly distinctive, Hublot Big Bang Sang Bleu Titanium watch.
While not as big a player in tennis as Rolex, Hublot has a little skin in the game, too. On its roster, or as friends of the brand, in addition to Halep, the brand works closely with Borna Coric (Croatian player who wears a Big Bang Unico King Gold watch with flyback chronograph), Elina Svitolina and Karolina Pliskova.
Petra Kvitová’
Czech professional tennis player Petra Kvitová is a 27-time singles winner in tennis since going professional 14 years ago in 2006. Among her victories are two Grand Slam Titles, winning Wimbledon twice. She is a brand ambassador for TAG Heuer and has been seen wearing a TAG Heuer stainless steel Carrera watch with bold blue dial.
TAG Heuer also has a few other tennis friends of the brand, including Denis Shapovalov, and several up and comers such as Felix Auger Aliassime, Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe.
Andre Agassi and Stefanie Graf
In contrast to the younger players, there are living legends of tennis that continue to do great things in the world. One of the greatest tennis stars of all time is Andre Agassi, who, along with his wife Stefanie Graf, are both are now Ambassadors of Elegance for Longines. He has been seen wearing the Longines Conquest V.H.P. stainless steel bracelet watch, while Graf has been seen wearing a blue-dial Conquest V.H.P.
Agassi, who won four Grand Slam titles, and a host of approximately 60 other victories (including an Olympic Gold medal), lives in Las Vegas with Steffi Graf and their children and has created the Andre Agassi Foundation to assist the youth with educational opportunities. He has opened a public school for at-risk children and Longines supports his efforts. Graf also established a charitable organization called “Children of Tomorrow,” which Longines also supports. I have been fortunate enough to visit Vegas and Agassi’s foundation and to meet with him. It is enlightening to see how two of the greatest tennis stars of all time have dedicated their lives to one another and to helping others.
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