Taylor Fritz channelled his inner Roger Federer when he walked onto the court for his first round match at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
The American turned up in a white suit designed by his sponsor, BOSS, that had a striking resemblance to the one the Swiss maestro had worn in the past. Fritz is the latest player to take fashion to the court, with the most renowned player doing so being Naomi Osaka. Without a doubt, it triggered a surge in attention to the tennis star, who admits he would have felt stupid if he had lost.
“Maybe not more nervous, but if you show up in a full outfit and get snipped in the first round, you kind of look stupid,” Fritz said after beating Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
Fritz was presented with a markup of the outfit from BOSS before the start of Wimbledon. Then he followed the usual procedures, such as the fitting and so on.
There is no ban on players walking onto the court in outfits as long as they abide by the rules. In Wimbledon’s case, this follows its strict all-white policy. For designers, it is a golden opportunity for them to promote their work to a wider audience.
“I think Boss came to me with the idea of wanting to do it, and so we did it,” Fritz explained.
“I wasn’t 100% sure how I felt, but after seeing the pictures after the match, I feel like it looked all right.”
The world No.7 said he would ‘probably’ do such a stunt again but admits it is not everybody’s cup of tea. Critics argue that it is unnecessary and that the focus should be solely on tennis.
“I think people are going to be torn,” he commented. “Some people are going to like it and some people are going to think that anyone who is dressed up to walk out is doing too much.”
Fritz heads into Wimbledon seeking his first Grand Slam title at the age of 28. He has already featured in the final of two grass events this season. In Stuttgart, he was runner-up to Ben Shelton before losing to Frances Tiafoe in the Halle final.
The American reached the semi-finals at SW19 last year before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
