Oceans, tattoos, ’90s inspire Australian Open WTA fashion

What are the latest trends in the WTA fashion? To get the answer, let’s have a look at all the 2019 Australian Open outfits as part of my traditional Grand Slam fashion overviews. Inspired by the ’90s, NikeCourt is going for semi-cropped tops and denim print, Serena Williams is again testing the limits, this time with a playsuit, Adidas is saving the oceans, Lucky in Love is inspired by Bethanie Mattek-Sands’ tattoos, and more.

Maria Sharapova blended with the Australian Open courts in her Nike Spring Maria Dress. The item is available in this darker version and a lighter, bright-sky one. As I discussed in my preview of the Russian’s Melbourne look, this is the first time since early 2010 that Masha is opting for a print.

Simona Halep rocks her custom-made vibrant-colored Nike kicks, decorated by jalapeno peppers, the national flag of Romania and the world No.1’s last name. When it comes to her ’90s-inspired NikeCourt separates, here we can see Halep in the colorblocked Spring Power Slam Sleeveless Top and the denim-printed Spring Slam Skirt.

Halep also wore the Spring Breathe Slam Top, characteristic for its checkered mock collar and asymmetric stripes at raglan sleeves, as seen below on Eugenie Bouchard, and the Spring Court Printed Tank, pictured above, whose side slits the Romanian tied into a knot.

Nike intended the new outfits to be paired with the fuchsia Nike Air Zoom Vapor X shoe.

Bouchard had a unique way of wearing her semi-cropped top.

For months before the Australian Open we tried to figure out what Serena Williams would wear at the Slam. First I thought that she would go for the pink Nike perforated dress, but when the American introduced it at the Hopman Cup, I knew it was not an option for Melbourne. Then we suspected the Nike Spring Player Dress and we were very close, but Serena likes to shock and make surprises, so she removed the skirt from the dress, making it into a playsuit.

The Nike Spring Player Dress, which also exists in white, features bold stripes around the waist, on center torso and surrounding the triangular cutout at back.

Of course, Serena is also equipped with stunning, customized Nike kicks.

Adidas‘ collection differs from everything we’ve seen so far, because it includes material made from recycled plastic bottles, created in cooperation with Parley for the Oceans. Defending champion Caroline Wozniacki is the top representative of the collection, wearing the Adidas Spring Parley Tank Top and the Parley Skirt. The blue ombre effect represents oceans and Wozniacki also made sure to match her nail color to the outfit.

The US Open champion Naomi Osaka shows a darker version of Wozniacki’s kit.

Garbine Muguruza‘s Adidas Spring Parley Dress features a notch collar, as opposed to the tank which has a regular neckline. Notice, there is no Adidas by Stella McCartney collection this year in Melbourne.

Venus Williams looks stunning in her unique Diva Dress from the EleVen Caracas collection. I think this is the first time we’re seeing a white dress with print only at chest and waist. The American also sports a matching printed visor and a pink arm sleeve.

We definitely don’t associate Fila with pleats and soft colors, but the company’s designers decided to ditch their traditional navy/red/white palette for a while. Here we can see Karolina Pliskova in the Spring Stripe Trim Tank and Spring Double Ruffle Skirt from the Ruffles & Stripes collection.

However, the new Fila collection offers a variety of black items as well, something we’re more used to when it comes to the Czech’s style.

Germany’s Laura Siegemund, new member of the Fila family, accessorized her baby pink outfit with bold black tube socks.

In this lovely photo of Alize Cornet and Petra Martic we can see Lotto‘s Tennis Tech collection, whose hypnotizing black-and-white print is contrasted by on-trend vibrant coral tone.

Johanna Konta‘s first Ellesse outfit (the Brit used to be the face of Asics) very much resembles Fila’s iconic style.

New Balance always creates youthful, vibrant and trendy outfits that follow the guidelines of tried-and-true sports design. Heather Watson‘s striped Spring Tournament Sleeveless Tank in voltage violet and light reef, paired with a rounded, perforated Spring Tournament Court Skirt, stole the show without trying too hard. As you could see in my New Balance preview, Watson’s violet shoe model is the WC 996v3.

Sergio Tacchini‘s Barbora Strycova was in white separates highlighted by colorful circular print around the edges of the tank and pleated skort.

Bethanie Mattek-Sands cooperated with Lucky in Love to create her own limited-edition Australian Open collection. The American, famous for her unconventional tennis style, featured her floral tattoos in the print of her nude mesh crop top and her tiered pleated skirt. Of course, her signature knee-high socks are also there.

Simple, high-performance outfits with subtle details characterize the style of Asics. Their top representative Julia Goerges launched this Asics Gel-Cool Tank Top in papaya and coordinating grey skort on the first day of the tournament. As you’ve probably seen in my preview of this outfit, the tank features flexible criss-cross straps and mesh inserts to minimize sweat.

Lacoste revamped its style and created its best collection ever, as we can see on Dominika Cibulkova, who’s entered her tenth year as the face of Lacoste, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a new member of the family. Here we can see CIbulkova in the Spring Dress, a blue and pink design (the colors are officially called neottia and bagatelle) with striped mesh at the upper chest and on the racerback, while Pavlyuchenkova is wearing the collection’s tank and skirt. You can have a closer look at both the dress and separates in my Lacoste Australian Open preview.

This season, Yonex expanded its pool of representatives with Monica Puig and Dayana Yastremska. I don’t have specific details about these two outfits (the tennis clothing section on the official Yonex website talks about the 2017-2018 Fall/Winter collection!), but it’s evident that they are from the same range, featuring two colors separated by a wavy diagonal line at chest.

Now that you have a complete picture of the WTA fashion that kicked off the 2019 season, what do you say, which brand performed the best?