SabalenkaHeat

Aryna Sabalenka has been ruling the tennis courts all year long, but this week she’s turned heads on the basketball court too—thanks to a few statement accessories spotted at a Miami Heat game.

Recently nominated for the WTA Player of the Year award, the 26-year-old has been enjoying her off-season in the South Florida city alongside boyfriend Georgios Frangulis. She told Baseline last month that after a long year of travel she couldn’t wait to “feel the home atmosphere and just be at home.”

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“Miami is so chill, so relaxed,” she said. “Everyone is enjoying life. They’re not in a rush. They call it a place for retirement, and it’s so chill. But at the same time, the nightlife in Miami is so cool.”

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Sabalenka was indeed out and about this week in Miami, popping up courtside at the Kaseya Center with Frangulis to watch the Heat beat the Philadelphia 76ers. The WTA’s year-end No. 1 was also “bringing the heat” too, as she wore denim shorts and a white top with a white bomber jacket by Off-White and matching Out of Office sneakers for the occasion.

Read More: Aryna Sabalenka inks "powerful new partnership" with Audemars Piguet

But it was her accessories that had social media buzzing. One arm featured her colorful Audemars Piguet watch, while the other held another marvel of engineering: The world’s first airless basketball, created by Wilson, in a distinctive Off-White chain net bag.

Sabalenka's courtside accessories included Wilson's Airless Gen1 basketball in an Off-White chain net bag.

Sabalenka's courtside accessories included Wilson's Airless Gen1 basketball in an Off-White chain net bag.

3D-printed and featuring a lattice structure made up of hexagonal holes, the high-tech ball made headlines when first launched back in February. According to Forbes, the ball is “fully playable, fitting the performance specifications of a regulation ball in weight, size and bounce.”

The launch was said to mark “a new era in sports”: With no air retention issues and lacking the distinctive bounce sound, it has huge implications for the grassroots game, while its 3D-printed manufacturing process could mean fewer inconsistencies in the balls used at the NBA level.

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With an initial $2,500 price point, the Airless Gen1 basketball is still far from wide adoption—but it’s still one of the most hyped pieces of new sports tech to be released this year.

Sabalenka’s limited-edition Wilson x Off-White basketball ($3,900) has been the first and only collab to date, selling out in less than a day since its launch on Wednesday. But it surely won’t be the last we’ll see as Wilson continues to test and tweak the groundbreaking design.

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