The fine line between tennis and entertainment has always been a bit blurred. Remember the days when Barbara Streisand and Brooke Shields accompanied Andre Agassi in his guest box? They were just two of the flurry of Hollywood leading ladies in the stands supporting ATP pros. The ladies of the WTA have also had their share of admirers, most notably Anna Kournikova’s No. 1 fan, Enrique Iglesias.
Now tennis greats are making the leap from the sports pages of papers to the glossy pages of fashion and lifestyle magazines.
In addition to being named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World,” Roger Federer is currently gracing the cover of Men’s Vogue, where he and his girlfriend, Mirka Vavrinec, have a 10-page spread featuring their on- and off-court life. The world’s No. 1 tennis player is cloaked in some of the best threads by fashion’s biggest names – in fact, the words “Dior” and “Dolce and Gabbana” are used almost as often as “Nadal,” “Mirka,” and “Tiger.”
He credits Vavrinec for opening his eyes to the world of haute couture, but either way, Federer’s love of fashion is self-evident these days. Following his U.S. Open win, he and Vavrinec were sat alongside fashion magnate Anna Wintour, Vogue’s Managing Editor, in the front row at the catwalks of New York’s famed Fashion Week. Perhaps Wintour was behind the Swiss gracing the cover of the newly launched men’s version of the iconic magazine.
Fellow US Open champ Maria Sharapova was not to be outdone last September – she was seen in Bryant Park attending shows the week following her victory. And this month, she appears in the current issue of women’s Vogue. The slightly shorter pictorial pegs the 20-year-old Russian in a classic skirt and sweater combination as well as in a more daring motorcycle shot. It isn’t Sharapova’s first stint at modeling; she’s also appeared in Italian Vogue, Teen Vogue, and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, among others.
And even Steffi Graf, who was known more for her work ethic than her fashion sense when on the women’s tour, is featured in this month’s Glamour magazine. A sultry white Jean Paul Gautier dress with slits along the sides shows off Mrs. Agassi’s fine form despite being being the mother of two.