Aryna Sabalenka draws fashion inspiration from Maria Sharapova, dreams of Nike line

Aryna Sabalenka is ready for fashion primetime.

The world No. 1 captured her third major title and won her second WTA 1000 title in three months in a decidedly understated Nike ensemble, one that belies her dynamic on-court persona.

Now that she is back atop the WTA rankings, Sabalenka, who made a last-minute trip to NYC Fashion Week following her US Open victory, wants to bring more eye-catching looks to court in 2025.

Read more: With style and flair, Aryna Sabalenka reflects on 2024 season, return to No. 1

“Fashion is something I’m really crazy about,” said Sabalenka, who is making a fourth consecutive appearance at the WTA Finals this week. “I really hope that one day I’ll have my own line. I don’t know, maybe I’m thinking about that too much…maybe not too much, but a lot, and it’s one of my dreams.

“I’m creating a lot of dresses in my head and messaging Keisha, my agent at Nike, like, ‘Girl, I came up with another idea!’ I see a lot of new things in fashion; I follow it a lot and I like it. Somehow, those inspire me to come up with ideas for my own dresses. Ideally, I’d like a designer to help me make something cool.”

Sabalenka, who has worn Nike throughout her career, embraced Barbiecore back in 2023, donning a signature pink dress en route to her first US Open final. But the 26-year-old admits to having more grand designs going forward.

“I think a lot about different materials, fabrics, the way certain prints open up parts of the body in classic or unique ways."

“I’m not a big fan of a lot of colors,” adds Sabalenka, eschewing the brighter fare one might find around her Miami home base. “I like more classic colors. I’m more about putting things in the right silhouette and mixing with materials.”

Her biggest fashion inspiration is surprisingly—or unsurprisingly, the way the depth of Sabalenka has unspooled across a character-building 2024 season—understated.

“I think there was a lot of cool stuff Nike did with Maria Sharapova,” she said. “Her dresses were the best, because they were about being classic, elegant, but at the same time still, really cool.”

Sabalenka played Sharapova in her first WTA final back in 2017, and as the five-time major champion prepares to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, perhaps Sabalenka might be outfitted in an updated homage to the style icon.

Click here to read our full interview with Sabalenka.