From the court to the catwalk, it appears as though Daniela Hantuchova’s transition game is well intact.
Hantuchova is no stranger to the world of fashion, counting elite designers Giorgio Armani, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Roberto Cavalli (whose gown she wore to the player party in Miami last year) among her favorites. Now that’s more name-dropping than a grocery store tabloid.
And just last month, the Slovakian beauty took a break from the courts at the Australian Open to sample some of Versace’s best at the Crown shopping center in Melbourne, where she modeled a few outfits for the cameras on hand.
She then followed that up with a real fashion show in Madrid, presenting the TCN collection at the Florida Park Club to kick off Madrid’s Fashion Week for designer Toton Comella’s fall/winter ’08 line.
Alongside model Martina Klein, Hantuchova held her own, walking the runway to showcase the collection’s lingerie, heavy knits, and tulle amidst an autumn backdrop and exotic birds.
The 24-year-old managed four wardrobe changes including a black spaghetti strap gown, a brown long-sleeve baby doll dress, and a risqué one-piece corset paired with thigh high stockings, with her hair in soft curls, parted down the center with a flower halo capping off the bohemian look.
While the fashion business is nothing new to the 8th-ranked player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, neither is being in Spain, where she spends a fair bit of time training at the Sachez-Casal Academy in Barcelona.
Following her stint in Madrid, Hantuchova flew to Antwerp, Belgium, where she lost in the quarterfinals of the Proximus Diamond Games. She is back on court again this week at the Qatar Total Open in Doha.