Simona Halep‘s 2019 season was definitely highlighted by her Wimbledon triumph, while when it comes to on-court fashion, her style included memorable Grand Slam looks and some classic sporty separates in-between. Let’s see what Nike created for one of its brightest stars in the year behind us, as part of my annual Fashion Retrospections.
Simona Halep’s first full year with Nike opened in Sydney, where the Romanian wore last year’s Nike Winter Court Top in habanero red and a matching skort with geometric allover print.
The Australian Open brought about ’90s-inspired separates: the Nike Spring Power Slam Sleeveless Top, which Halep alternated with striped mesh Nike Spring Dry Printed Tank, and the dark “denim” Nike Spring Slam Skirt.
Then-the-world-No.1-player Halep rocked her custom-made vibrant-colored Nike kicks, decorated by jalapeno peppers, the national flag of Romania and her last name.
After wearing the Melbourne apparel in Doha, Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami, Halep introduced the grey Nike Summer Flouncy Skirt in Madrid, and paired it with a simple tank.
Nike’s most controversial collection in 2019 was created for Roland Garros, as bees, flowers and skeletons polarized opinions of tennis fashion enthusiasts. The defending champion’s outfit of choice was the beehive faux polo and a plain black skirt, paired with the Nike Air Zoom Vapor X Clay Shoes in purple.
Nike’s Wimbledon style was all about texture. In the 56-minute final, Halep dispatched Serena Williams 6-2 6-2 to win tennis’ most prestigious trophy and her outfit for the occasion was the Nike Fall Slam London Dress, a highly sophisticated item featuring a lace overlay and cute pleats at the back of the skirt.
During the Wimbledon fortnight, Halep also wore the Nike Fall Victory London Skirt, an asymmetric piece that stands out with its staggered hem and half-exposed elastic waistband.
At the Rogers Cup, Halep sported the simple and sporty Nike Fall Court Tank and Nike Fall Victory Skirt.
In Cincinnati, the 28-year-old paired the same tank with the Nike Fall Straight Skirt.
Nike’s US Open collection drew inspiration from torn posters seen on the walls of New York City. Halep’s combo included the Nike Fall Graphic NY Tank, whose engineered fabric looks like a brick wall, and the Nike Fall Slam NY Skirt, a flounce design also inspired by graffiti.
In Wuhan, Halep showed the Nike Fall Graphic NY Tank, whose left shoulder strap features a portion of the New York City map.
Burgundy marked Nike’s appearances as the WTA season was coming to a close. At the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, Halep contrasted her bordeaux godet-style Nike Winter Elevated Flouncy Skirt with a white Nike Winter Court Tank, whose racerback is wider in order to provide better coverage without compromising mobility. The two-time major champion’s footwear of choice was the Nike Air Zoom Vapor X.
What was your favorite NikeCourt collection in 2019? My vote goes to the Australian Open clothes, especially the denim print items.
Love the Garros line, no matter what anyone says! The bees are so cute, and there’s no reason that sports fashion should all be the same. Would live to see Nike do more like this!
Don’t you think that most Nike designs are very basic? It is incredible that stars like Halep and Kvitova have a dress just like the majority of players they sponsor. Why doesn’t Nike do the Fila thing that gives each player a variation in color at least?
Juan, well, some are basic, some are not. For Grand Slams they had authentic designs. What did surprise me was that Naomi Osaka’s first ever Nike outfit was more than basic — just a white tank and black skirt. They could’ve profited on the early hype about her signing the contract with Nike. Have a look at my Osaka fashion overview for 2019: https://womenstennisblog.com/2019/11/18/naomi-osaka-fashion-retrospection/