The luxury watch brands that won over tennis’ next-gen elite: Rolex signed world No 1s Iga Świątek and Carlos Alcaraz, while Rafael Nadal remains Richard Mille’s rep and Tag Heuer has Naomi Osaka
These players, recently retired or in the last years of their glorious careers, remain the most esteemed names in tennis, but it’s now time for new stars to take over, winning on the court and off it when it comes to watches as well as matches. Below, we explore the luxury watch brands upping their game and pairing up with the rising young guns of tennis:
1. Rolex
In 1978, luxury watch brand Rolex forged a partnership with Wimbledon, often considered the most prestigious tournament of the four tennis majors – the others being the Australian Open, French Open and US Open. Rolex’s principal status in tennis was furthered when its ambassador, Federer, won Wimbledon in 2003.
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Staying in the game, Rolex has reportedly signed a slew of tennis’ new brand of greats, including women’s world No 1 Iga Świątek and men’s No 1 Carlos Alcaraz, and big-name players Coco Gauff, Caroline Garcia, Garbiñe Muguruza, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner and others.
2. Tag Heuer
Tag Heuer has also been quick to sign up young stars. They’ve signed deals with two-time Australian Open and US Open champ, and former world No 1, Naomi Osaka, to front their brand. Up-and-coming tennis masters and Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime are also ambassadors.
Tag Heuer is officially the timekeeper of the Stuttgart Open, also known as the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and also offers a luxury tennis watch collection that retails for US$2,000 and up.
3. Richard Mille
Richard Mille is the label that convinced Nadal to wear a watch on court. On its website, it recalls how the “King of Clay” was reluctant to the idea, until Mille presented him with the “lightest tourbillon in the world at that time”, which Nadal describes as “like [a] second skin”. The latest model of his watch is the RM 27-04 Tourbillon.
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Among the next-gen tennis pros, Richard Mille has ties with American Sebastian Korda, along with his sister Nelly, a big star of the women’s LPGA golf circuit. The Kordas are from a sporting family, as their parents are both former tennis pros, and their other sister is also a pro golfer.
Sebastian Korda wears the RM 67-02, an Automatic Winding Extra Flat sports watch, which features “the lightest strap the brand has ever created”, per Richard Mille’s website.
4. Bulgari
Bulgari has also been producing tennis playing-appropriate jewellery, and of course, watches. It has partnered with Russian young gun Andrey Rublev, currently world No 6.
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- Tennis GOATs have landed some of the biggest deals with watch brands over the years, from Rolex and Met Gala host Roger Federer to Audemars Piguet with Serena Williams and Hublot’s Novak Djokovic
- Tag Heuer has signed up former women’s world No 1 Naomi Osaka and Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime, Richard Mille has Sebastian Korda, while Bulgari has Andrey Rublev