The first racket of the world, Aryna Sabalenka, was criticized for “inappropriateness” and “bad taste” due to the choice of an unusual look for a tennis tournament – on Tuesday, the Belarusian athlete took to the court of the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York in a mesh Nike dress and massive jewelry with precious stones, writes The Sporting News.
Belarusian tennis player Sabalenka played at the US Open tennis championship US Open paired with Serbian athlete Novak Djokovic against Katerina Siniakova and Henry Patten. Sabalenka and Djokovic won the first set 4:1, but Siniakova and Patten took the second 4:2 and then confidently outscored their opponents in the deciding tiebreaker with a score of 10:2.
As the publication notes, for the match Sabalenka chose one of the boldest Nike sets with a reference to the basketball uniform: a black mesh dress over a red sports top and shorts. The look was complemented by jewelry from the Material Good brand, made specifically for the US Open: a massive necklace, bracelet and large drop earrings.
Win or lose it's all smiles for Djokolenka 😎
They fall in their mixed doubles opener 4-1, 2-4, 2-10 to Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/dkICWXNAuL
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 25, 2026
Precious and semi-precious stones from Nigeria, Tanzania, Cambodia, Myanmar, Mozambique and other countries were used for the jewelry set. The necklace included sapphires, tourmalines, garnets, zircons, spinels, chrysoberyls and tanzanites weighing a total of 83.2 carats. The bracelet is made of the same stones with the addition of tsavorites – their total weight is 28.36 carats. The earrings feature sapphires, spinels, tourmalines and garnets, notes Town & Country.
According to representatives of Material Good, the jewelry was created taking into account the preferences of Sabalenka herself. They had to look noticeable and expressive, but at the same time remain light enough so as not to interfere with the tennis player during the game.
“We really work closely with her to create pieces specifically for her performance on the court, taking into account her personality and style. She loves to experiment with jewelry and style in general, and is not afraid of color and big details, so we can afford to do something really bright and playful,” Material Good Marketing Director Teresa Panico told Town & Country.
The designers were inspired by the cultural diversity of New York, which they reflected in the combination of stones of different colors and shapes.
“What does everyone associate New York with? It's a melting pot – lots of people from all over the world. The stones reflect this idea: they are different shapes, different colors and brought from different countries,” said Material Good design director Atara Lev.
Material Good collaborates with Sabalenka at other tournaments. When developing jewelry, designers had advance access to the Nike kits that the athlete must wear throughout the year in order to select suitable items to match them.
This way of self-expression was not appreciated by everyone – some users considered the outfit unsuccessful and advised the tennis player to change her stylist, and someone compared her image to a “garbage bag.”
Even before the tournament, Sabalenka admitted in a conversation with reporters that not everyone might like her outfit.
“I love my outfit. If someone doesn't like it, it's okay. You cannot impress everyone with your outfits. That's why I like fashion because there is room for whatever, basically.”
Aryna Sabalenka defended her viral basketball-inspired US Open kit 🏀 pic.twitter.com/DCbZrrMT7H
— Christian's Court (@christianscourt) August 7, 2026
“I like my outfit. If someone doesn't like him, that's okay. It is impossible to impress everyone with your images. This is why I love fashion. In fact, there is a place for anything,” the tennis player said a few weeks ago.
