Maria Sharapova‘s 2017 season was marked by her grand comeback from the Meldonium doping ban at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, by the September’s release of her autobiography “Unstoppable”, and, naturally, by a number of amazing Nike outfits. The Russian is the person who exactly ten years ago inspired me to start my Fashion Retrospections, so I’m thrilled to open my this year’s series by reviewing her style.
Let me start by saying that even though it had been known for months that Maria would have to skip the 2017 Australian Open, she did have a dedicated dress, the Nike Spring Maria Premier Dress, unique for its clean lines and sharp colorblocks, available in light aqua with ghost green and arctic orange with hyper orange.
For her April’s comeback, Masha opted for a lilac and orange combo consisting of the Nike Summer Premier Maria Tank with a deep narrow oval neckline and the Nike Summer Premier Maria Skirt, whose mesh hem matches the top’s mesh back panel.
Sharapova kicked off her first tournament in 15 months with a victory over Roberta Vinci and continued to progress as far as the semifinals.
In Madrid and Rome, Masha sported the same look, completed with matching personalized tennis shoes.
Even though she wasn’t playing Roland Garros, Maria had this Nike Summer Maria Premier Tunic ready just in case.
Maria’s Wimbledon absence prevented us from seeing this white Nike Fall Maria Lawn Power Dress with asymmetrical knife pleats, slim racerback and deep faux V-neck in London, but we did see it in action later on during the World Team Tennis event in Newport Beach.
At the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, Masha’s appearance seemed to be inspired by the Fairy Queen, with its pale pink vibe exuding softness and femininity.
The lightweight micro-pleated shorts captivated with their lively and elegant movement.
Subtle touches of vibrant pink gave this romantic outfit just the right pop of color.
And then came the US Open. Sharapova made sure to bring top glamour to New York, working together with Italian designer Riccardo Tisci, the former Givenchy creative director, to create a memorable crystal-studded lace dress, reminiscent of the Russian’s black Audrey Hepburn dress in which she lifted the US Open champion’s trophy back in 2006. The WTA community overwhelmingly voted Masha’s New York ensemble a 2017 Fashion Favorite.
Sharapova balanced the red-carpet elegance of the dress with an oversized bomber jacket, whose masculine energy is softened by the expensive feminine crystals.
Always driven by immense pressure and spotlight (that’s what we admire about Maria the most, isn’t it?), Sharapova miraculously defeated Simona Halep in the first round, her first Top 10 opponent since the comeback, and then marched all the way to the fourth round, so we had plenty of Masha’s on-court time to enjoy Swarovski crystals’ glitter under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The victories also made sure we could see the light pink day version of the dress, which Maria contrasted with black accessories, most notably the black armsleeve.
For the Asian Swing, in particular the China Open and the Tianjin Open, Maria prepared a chevron-perforated outfit from Nike’s winter collection.
Masha decided to tuck in her Nike Women’s Winter Maria Premier Tank, so you can’t see that it has a curved hem, but what really makes this barely green item stand out are the ventilating perforations that create a subtle chevron pattern.
The dark atomic teal Nike Winter Maria Premier Skirt with elastic waistband and pleats is also highlighted by the stylish texture noticeable at a closer look.
Lifting the Tianjin Open champion’s trophy, Masha showcased her Nike Winter Maria Jacket.
I think Maria can be more than satisfied with her comeback results, while it goes without saying that her style was spot-on. Even though I adore the powder Stanford look, my favorite piece this season is definitely the black US Open dress, as it pushed even Sharapova’s boundaries of on-court glamour. Do you agree?
Moj favorit je također sa US opena. Kada će biti sledeci fashion post za neku drugu igračicu.
Each and every one of these designs is unique in its way and the color/material combinations outstanding too 🙂 Plain yet so very elegant. Can’t wait for her 2018 ideas.
Im gonna start by saying my least favorite, was definitely her Roland Garros outfit, too simple n not enough creativity in term of color n patterns…
My favorite is definitely her USO night dress, the swarovski crystals really elevated the looked, and the black shoes really made her looked like a bad ass fearless chick… Perfect looked for strong meets elegance..
I wish i’ve seen her in her AO dress, i love the pattern, color blocks, n the shape of the dress (a type of dress that ive never seen her in)….
SharapovaFun, the next fashion retrospection is coming soon!
Michaela, I always prefer Maria’s glamorous designs to basic ones, but this year even plain outfits featured interesting textures and details.
Ian, the USO dress will definitely be talked about for the years to come! One of the most spectacular tennis dresses ever.
Can’t understand why everyone likes the US open dress so much. I think it is too fussy, the lines are messy and it is not elegant at all. What’s with the bra showing through the lace? I’m not opposed to any of the elements – leather, lace, sequins – but all together, no thanks. Not classy at all. Most of the other outfits are unspectacular although the Stanford and Wimbledon ones are quite pretty and the Australian Open one is a bit more interesting.
I wish Nike came up with 2 different kind of designs for the dresses, like in the past, no day and night dresses had the same designs until this year for Maria… Agreed?
Still nothing about Serena’s wedding. I guess only some women make the cut in the women’s tennis blog.
You posted on November 23rd. That was just three days after Serena’s wedding. Not really very old news especially given that weddings of WTA players are usually covered on this site.
Sabey, the wedding was on November 16th, so it was a week old piece of news. Rest assured that I wish I could report about Serena’s wedding, especially, as you mentioned, because of my WTA Players and their Love Partners series. But you also have to have understanding for me becoming a mother for the first time and finding time to update this blog only a week after giving birth.
CLT, I don’t know, I like everything about the dress, I can only understand that you don’t like the black bra showing through the pale pink dress.
Ian, this is definitely not the first time Maria’s US Open dresses have the same design, as you could see in my 2010, 2009 and 2007 fashion retrospections.
Sabey, I was in the hospital during Serena’s wedding, having just given birth to my first child, and by the time I came home and resumed blogging, the wedding was already very old news, so I unfortunately had to skip reporting about it. How can you say that only some women make the cut in Women’s Tennis Blog when I write about Serena all the time and I covered everything about her relationship with Alexis.
Thanks marija, but ive done my research:
2007 night dress had swarovski crystals in front and different design on the back side compare to the day’s..
2009 dresses also have different design for the back side, and the lines pattern in front of the dresses are differents..
2010 night dress had a see through around the neckline, a black line belt like around the waist, n different back design…
2017 day dress had every design as the night, just in diff color
Dont take it too personal and waste any of your breath Marija…Sabey is an old hater of Maria Sharapova. Any article you post about Masha will poke some haters and it gets boring….
On another note, I would like to say thank you for your fashion coverage all these years….Your consistency and dedication is honorable and I salute you for that…
Keep up the good thing you do…
Ian, wow, impressive research! Personally, I don’t mind at all that the design is the same. I like the idea of the same design in a different color. The dresses have a completely different energy because of the color difference.
Ferondi, thank you for your support. It’s really not easy to find time to blog when you have at most 2 hours of sleep in one stretch and you’re still learning to nurture a newborn.
Sabey is right about Serena’s Wedding. Why not just admit that you prefer to write about Sharapova? After all, it is your blog, and you ca do what you want.
No worries Marija….I have to say your articles are nice and fair…..It seems you have yourself another ungrateful follower/reader, but in the end, you have my full support and those who do not like it can look the other way by all means…
Keep it up Marija!
I love Maria’s dresses! She’s one of my favorite players. I personally love her dress in US Open. Her dress reminds me of her 2006 US Open dress but much more elegant!
Claire, yes, that’s why I never even mentioned on this blog her relationship with Alexis and her pregnancy.
Ferondi, thank you. Giving birth and taking care of a newborn is by no means easy, but some people will have to experience it themselves to believe it and have understanding.
As stated, you can do what you want to do – but perhaps you should consider renaming your blog (“Sharapova-fan-blog??” , “Mari(j)a all the way”??)? 🙂 But of course I understand the meaning of giving birth and taking care of a newborn (been there, done that…) and the way it kind of sidesteps everything else. Good luck to you both!
I like very much the Stanford outfit! Am I right that it is not really a skirt, but they are shorts instead?
MG, you’re right, they are skirt-looking shorts.
My fav dress of her has to be the wimbledon dress. followed by her us open day dress ( yes i like her day dress more than her night dress lol)
Sru, you are in the minority for preferring the day dress and you apparently know it 😀
I loved the US Open combination of the day and night dresses. 2 luv it when any of the ladies have a variety of attire at the grand slam events.
Don’t listen to the haters! You’re doing an amazing job writing the blog while having just given birth recently! I love your posts and I admire you for your consistency!
Fiona S, thank you so much. I’m glad to have loving and supportive loyal readers like you.