The 2023 French Open (Roland Garros Tournament) came to an end at the Roland Garros clay court in Paris. The 36-year-old tennis superstar Djokovic won the French Open men's singles championship for the third time and his 23rd Grand Slam. The championship trophy was in the bag, and a new world record was created. The Chinese team of Wang Xinyu and Chinese Taipei star Xie Shuwei won the French Open women's doubles championship.
On and off the field, we noticed that in addition to the Swiss luxury watch brand Rolex and the French fashion sports brand Lacoste appearing as official sponsors, more brands, such as Fila, On, the French modern jewelry brand FRED, and others, have shown their presence at Roland Garros through cooperation with athletes, licensing, and other means.
Lacoste: Men's singles champion Novak Djokovic's jersey
In this battle with the Norwegian star Casper Ruud, Djokovic won the game in straight sets, creating an unprecedented 23 Grand Slam titles and the "three-lap Grand Slam" (four Grand Slams). He has won at least three times, surpassing the Spanish player Rafael Nadal, who is known as the "King of Clay" and ranking first in the history of men's tennis.
On June 11, when he stood on the podium, he wore a jacket customized for him by Lacoste — the number "23" with the brand's iconic crocodile logo on the chest.
The cooperation between the two parties began in 2018. The agreement at the time stipulated that in addition to creating sportswear for Djokovic, Lacoste also paid him about US$9.4 million per year, and the two parties subsequently launched a joint series.
In 2021, Lacoste announced a contract extension with Djokovic until 2025.
At the start of this year's French Open, Lacoste also announced that Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov has joined the brand's TEAM LACOSTE as a new brand ambassador.
Other tennis players Lacoste has worked with include Daniil Medvedev and Venus Williams. Among them, Daniil Medvedev won his first clay championship and the sixth Masters championship in his career in Rome in late May.
As a brand that has been inseparable from tennis since its birth, the origins of Lacoste and Roland Garros are far more than sponsors of athletes and can be said to be witnesses of each other's birth and growth. In 1927, four French players: Jacques "Toto" Brugnon, Jean Borotra, and Henri Cochet René Lacoste won the Coupe Davis in the United States, earning them the nickname "Musketeers" in tennis. To commemorate their achievements, the French Tennis Federation (Fédération Française de Tennis) decided to build a stadium. The Stade Français, which organizes various international competitions in France, voluntarily gave up a piece of land with only one additional condition: name it Roland Tennis Garros.
Since 1928, the French Open has been held on this red soil. In 1933, René Lacoste wore the polo shirt designed by himself at Roland Garros for the first time. This classic product that combines tennis and French fashion has subverted the tennis dress and is still considered one of the most formal tennis match dresses.
Lacoste has been one of the cooperative brands of the French Open clay court since 1971 and became an official senior partner in 2019. The current cooperation between the two parties will continue until 2025.
In addition to the brand logo that appears in every corner of the court, Lacoste will also launch related products every year. Judging from Roland Garros's official online store products, Lacoste's products account for the highest proportion among many cooperative brands. Among the total 757 products on sale, 181 are from Lacoste.
Sports brands: Asics, On, Nike, Fila, Lotto, New Balance, etc.
It is worth mentioning that, as the brand spokesperson, Djokovic wears Lacoste clothing all the time, but he wears old Japanese Asics tennis shoes on his feet.
Known for its running shoes and tennis shoes, Asics has partnered with numerous tennis players, including Matteo Berrettini, Claire Liu, Alex de Minaur, Alycia Parks, Jasmine Paoloni, Belinda Bencic, and many more.
On the field, we also saw more fashionable and cutting-edge sports brands.
Swiss cutting-edge sports brand On made its debut at the French Open this year, with the upper body of the new spokesperson and Polish female player Iga Świątek. This year, Iga Świątek, wearing a white sleeveless top and tennis skirt, successfully defended her French Open women's title and remains the world's number one. This is her third French Open title and her fourth Grand Slam title in her career.
In November 2019, Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer joined On, which started out as running shoes, as an investor, consultant, and partner. Since then, the brand has made great progress in the tennis field. The two parties also jointly launched the Roger Center Court 0-Series, the Roger Pro, and more.
In March of this year, Iga Świątek, who parted ways with the old Japanese label Asics, reached a cooperation with On. Under the terms of the agreement, she will wear a new line of professional apparel developed by On during competition and a custom version of The Roger Pro high-performance tennis shoes, which Federer custom-designed in close collaboration with On Labs' Lightning innovation team, to meet the needs of players' individual playing styles.
Other niche sports brands that appeared in this French Open include:
Italian sports brand Lotto, the Indian Maharadja, Uomo Sport's luxury Italian sportswear line Donna Sport, etc.
Lotto has launched the Paris Style collection, featuring a mix of russet orange and garnet prints. Aleksandar Kovacevic (left in the picture below), Alize Cornet (right in the picture below), and other athletes' upper body brand clothing.
Founded in Amsterdam in 2009, The Indian Maharadja is a Dutch lifestyle hockey brand. Dutch athlete Botic van de Zandschulp wears the label in the opening round (below).
Brands such as Nike, New Balance, and Fila have put a lot of thought into the design.
The Nike Paris series is quite innovative in silhouette and tailoring.
Inspired by the natural orientation of collagen fibers in the skin, the Nike Paris Slam Dress features a print that radiates lines all around, four tank tops adorned with chic cut-out fashion straps, and the tennis team's double-layered skirt, asymmetrical cropped hem and intricate racerback cut are on-trend.
Athletes who have worn the collection this time around include Jessica Pegula (below), Olga Danilovic, Aryna Sabalenka, and more.
Coco Gauff, 19, (pictured below), featured a bold, minimalist New Balance ensemble with a blue tank top and black skirt trimmed only with white lines.
Notably, she donned her signature New Balance CG1 sneaker, which features a basketball-inspired silhouette and comes in a new Twisted Net colorway. Coco Gauff is currently the only WTA (Women's Tennis Association) player to own a personal signature tennis shoe.
Coco Gauff's partnership with New Balance began in 2018 and was renewed in 2022, with the collaboration launching her signature line of tennis shoes.
Fila drew inspiration from classic French fashion to create the La Finale collection for this year's French Open.
Luxury brands: Rolex, Fred, Lancel, and Sisley
The most well-known luxury brand partner at the French Open is Rolex.
Since 2019, Rolex has been Roland Garros' chief partner and conference timekeeper. This year, Rolex's brand spokesperson, Iga Świątek (pictured below), won her third French Open women's singles title and her fourth Grand Slam singles title.
In addition to Rolex, Fred, Lancel, Sisley, and other brands have become official partners as licensees and each launched a joint series with Roland Garros.
Pictured above: Fred, a French modern jewelry brand under the LVMH Group, collaborated with Roland Garros to launch a special FRED x ROLAND-GARROS special collaboration item, which uses the iconic nautical buckle design of the brand's Force 10 series and is available in pure platinum and gem inlays. The gem-inlaid model is composed of gold and 64 white diamonds, yellow diamonds, and citrines. Tennis motifs and the Roland Garros logo are engraved on both sides of the clasp. In addition to the terracotta color version launched for the first time, the chain rope also launched a limited edition of terracotta red and white intertwined.
Above: The French high-end leather goods brand Lancel, a subsidiary of the Italian leather goods group Piquadro, and Roland Garros’ joint series include tote bags, zipper wallets, square scarves, sunglasses, sunglasses chains, backpacks, travel bags, and other products, all decorated with the exclusive common logo of the brand. They want to present a relaxed and sophisticated style on the court.
Above: With more than 25 years of research into antiaging care and sun protection, French skincare brand Sisley is the official beauty licensee of Roland Garros. Sisley's range of sun care products is designed to control the effects of sun exposure and strengthen the skin's natural defenses for long-term protection. For example, the set jointly launched by the two parties contains two face and body sunscreen products for travel.
