"Nike just said f**k it this open"; "Their tennis budget really $5 now I'm crying" - Fans unimpressed by Aryna Sabalenka's 'custom' US Open 2024 kit

Tennis fans on the internet were unimpressed by Aryna Sabalenka's US Open 2024 kit designed by sports apparel and footwear giant Nike. Sabalenka opened her campaign with a convincing win over Australia's Priscilla Hon on Monday, August 26.

The second seed produced an impressive performance as she broke Hon in the first game of the match. She then converted three more break points to complete a 6-3, 6-3 win in 80 minutes.

Sabalenka, who has been donning Nike since 2017, wore an all-black attire during her first outing in the New York Major this year.

Fans on X (formerly Twitter) found Aryna Sabalenka's dress underwhelming and slammed Nike.

"Their tennis budget really $5 now I’m crine," wrote a fan.

"Nike just said f**k it this open huh," wrote another.

Here are a few more reactions from X:

"So boring compared to the custom dresses for Sharapova and Williams," a fan remarked.

"The designers need a pay rise for doing such a good job," a fan wrote sarcastically.

"She needs to square up with the design team because there's no way this is a custom kit," a fan commented.

"Are the designers at Nike quiet quitting??" a fan wrote.

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Aryna Sabalenka will take on Lucia Bronzetti in US Open 2R

Aryna Sabalenka (Getty)

Aryna Sabalenka's second-round opponent at the 2024 US Open is Lucia Bronzetti, the World No. 76 from Italy. Bronzetti received a walkover against New Zealand's Lulu Sun, the 2024 Monterrey Open runner-up.

Bronzetti and Sun played the opening set, which the Italian claimed 6-3, as the latter struggled with her hip. She also used her medical timeout but couldn't continue after the opening set, giving her Bronzetti an easy pass to the next round.

Sabalenka and Bronzetti have already played against each other once this year. The two met in the second round of Brisbane International, where the Belarusian thrashed Bronzetti 6-3, 6-0 on the back of four break points and eight aces.

She went on the play as far as the final where Elena Rybakina from Kazakhstan trumped her 6-0, 6-3.

Aryna Sabalenka notably entered the 2024 US Open women's singles draw as the second seed with a task to defend 1,300 points from her run to the final last year. She has already recovered 70 of those points by making it to the second round. The world No. 2 lost the title to Coco Gauff in 2023.