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Pictures of Carlos Alcaraz's official 2024 US Open outfit, designed by his apparel sponsor Nike, have surfaced. However, it has not been received well by the majority of tennis fans.
The US Open bears a special significance in Alcaraz's thriving tennis career. The Spaniard made his debut at the prestigious hardcourt Major in 2021 and reached the quarterfinals. However, he chose to retire midway through his quarterfinal clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime citing physical fatigue, which had accumulated due to two grueling five-set encounters he played at the tournament before the quarterfinals.
In 2022 though, Alcaraz went all the way, winning his maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows after coming out on top against Casper Ruud in the final. Last year, the Spaniard's run was ended in the semifinals by eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev.
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This time around, the World No. 3 is gunning for his third Major of the season, having already won the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships, and his fifth Grand Slam title overall. Recently, pictures of the outfit, that the Spaniard is set to don during his 2024 US Open campaign, surfaced on X (formerly Twitter). The pictures featured an all-black, sleeveless, round-neck shirt, and what appears to be a pink pair of shorts.
Most fans ridiculed the outfit, with some suggesting that the black shirt is symbolic of the 'dark side' of Alcaraz's on-court personality, which surfaced recently at the ongoing Cincinnati Open, where he violently smashed a racquet during his second-round loss to veteran Gael Monfils. One fan also made a play on 'Good Girl Gone Bad', Barbadian singer Rihanna's 2007 album.
"He (Alcaraz) is entering his Rihanna stage "good boy gone bad"," a fan wrote.
"Black… as in he has turned to the Dark Side?? Looks like he is beginning to give in to his anger…," commented another fan.
"The dark side is coming," another fan chimed in.
Another set of fans lambasted Alcaraz's apparel sponsor, Nike, suggesting that the sportswear giant has got it all wrong with the Spaniard's US Open outfit.
"Nike must really hate its players," wrote a fan.
"Gone are those days when Nike dressed Roger, Rafa, Serena and Sharapova SO cool," another fan commented.
"Nike sucks so bad," added another fan.
"Abandon!! Anandon Nike!!" another fan exclaimed.
Carlos Alcaraz cited Rafael Nadal inspiration behind his US Open 2023 sleeveless outfit
Alcaraz donned a sleeveless outfit at last year's US Open too. On that occasion, the outfit was much more colorful compared to what he is set to wear this year. The Spaniard delved deep into his look during a press conference and revealed that the outfit was inspired by legendary compatriot Rafael Nadal's sleeveless look from his 2019 US Open title-winning campaign.
"Honestly, when I wear the sleeves, I was thinking about Rafa when he wear that. He won that US Open, right? I love to wear that sometimes in some specific tournaments. Here in the US Open, I supposed to play last year, but it wasn't. This year it's a good, good outfit, so I love it," Alcaraz said.
The Spaniard sported a sleeveless shirt at this year's Australian Open as well, where he reached the quarterfinals before losing to Alexander Zverev.
