The watches worn by the greatest tennis champions

July 18, 2024

Last weekend saw Barbora Krejcikova and Carlos Alcaraz win their respective grass court Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon. After a repeat matchup of last year's final against Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz managed to retain top spot, victorious in his yellow gold Daytona (the watch was also a 2023 repeat).? Every year, watching Wimbledon brings back happy memories of little me, perched on Henman Hill under the blazing hot sun (yes, sometimes the sun does shine in England), eating an ungodly amount of strawberries and cream while very naively hoping and wishing for a victory by England's grass court legend Tim Henman. He never once made it to the finals. While tennis in the '90s serves (sorry, I had to) as peak childhood nostalgia for yours truly, it's also a phenomenally entertaining porthole back into the fashion of the decade. Once I got going on my Google search for "tennis in the '90s Pete Sampras watch," I fell down a decades-long rabbit hole of retro fashion on and off of the court. Scrolling through tennis pics of yore produced some fascinating documentation of some very questionable fashion (you absolutely must click here for Bjorn Borg, a true '80s vision in red at his wedding). There were exceptionally slick sartorial choices, too (see fashion god Andre Agassi and Brooke Shields, who are forever pinned on my imaginary hot couple mood board). Fashion aside, what's a tennis tournament, vintage or new, without a little watch spotting?? Billie Jean King, while receiving congratulations from President Nixon C as well as a crown C wearing what appears to be a Dirty Time Co. political caricature watch (1971) Photo: Getty Images Arthur Ashe wearing a Rolex Day-Date at Wimbledon (1973) Photo: Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Bjorn Borg wearing a Rolex Datejust and John McEnroe wearing a Rolex Oyster Perpetual in Jamaica (1978) Photo: Alamy Bjorn Borg wearing a Cartier Tank (ca. 1978) Photo: Alamy John McEnroe wearing A Rolex Day-Date and kissing the trophy following his third straight U.S. Open victory (1981) Photo: Getty Images Boris Becker in an Ebel Sport watching a match from the sidelines at Wimbledon (1985) Photo: Getty Images A slightly closer look at Becker's yellow gold Ebel Sport (ca. mid-1980s). Photo: Getty Images Chris Evert Lloyd wearing a Lady Datejust Rolex with diamond dial being recognized as Top Woman Athlete of the last 25 years (1985) Photo: Getty Images Andre Agassi wearing an Ebel Sport (1988) Photo: Getty Images Steffi Graf wearing a Baume & Mercier Avant-Garde (Tungsten & Gold) at the U.S. Open (1996) Anna Kournikova wearing an Omega Constellation (2000) Maria Sharapova wearing a TAG Heuer Monaco (2005) Roger Federer kisses the trophy at the U.S. Open wearing a Rolex Daytona ref. 116509 (2008) Photo: Getty Images Serena Williams wearing an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore at the French Open (2021) Photo: Getty Images Rafael Nadal in his semifinal match against Novak Djokovic at the French Open wearing an RM 27-04 (2021) Photo: Getty Images Novak Djokovic wearing a Hublot Big Bang at the Wimbledon men's singles final (2022) Photo: Getty Images Carlos Alcaraz wearing a yellow gold Rolex Daytona with a meteorite dial at the Wimbledon men's singles final (2024) Photo: Getty Images Top photo: Getty Images