While Carlos Alcaraz's triumph at the 2024 French Open has been met with cheers from tennis fans, his title-winning outfit has sparked dismay. Fans have aired their grievances with the Spaniard's apparel sponsor Nike, urging the brand to do better by the Spaniard.
Alcaraz clinched his maiden French Open title in spectacular fashion, claiming a hard-fought 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 win over Alexander Zverev in the final. With his triumph, the 21-year-old became the first male player to win his first three Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces and also climbed up a spot to World No. 2 in the rankings.
Nike commemorated Carlos Alcaraz's achievement on social media, sharing a picture of the Spaniard grinning joyfully in his French Open outfit alongside the tagline:
"Winning from ear to ear."
Alcaraz donned a dark blue Nike T-shirt paired with yellow shorts during his title run at the claycourt Major. Tennis fans were initially put off by the color combination and design, referring to it as "mismatched" and a "crime." The Spaniard's triumph only intensified the criticism of his kit.
With Nike spotlighting the outfit in their congratulatory post, fans took the opportunity to advocate for better branding and marketing for the 21-year-old, urging Nike to develop a personalized logo, merchandise and better kits.
"I need you guys to get serious. He's got 3 slams and more than 5 million followers. We need a f**king logo, merch and some decent kits. Get to f**king work," one fan commented.
"Next time give him a TRUE slam-winning kit cause this was weak!" another fan chimed in.
"When is he getting custom kits?? This outfit was horrible," said another.
Describing Carlos Alcaraz's French Open outfit as "horrible," another fan called for Nike to emulate the effort they had put in for Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
"His outfit looks horrible. You need to make an effort Nike to have proper customised matching and elegant outfits for Carlos the way FEDAL & Serena had. Those yellow shorts are hideous with some bland grey," the fan posted.
"Yeah @nike tennis has sadly not been serious since Federer and Serena. @niketennis They had great shoes and kits, now they just make giant cement shoes and generic kits," another fan lamented.
One fan questioned when Nike would release signature shoes for the Spaniard, while another suggested that he might make the switch to Adidas for better treatment.
"When are y'all releasing Carlos signature shoes?" one fan asked.
"Carlitos Adidas by 2030," another fan wrote.
Carlos Alcaraz 'hopeful' of matching Novak Djokovic's 24 Grand Slam titles after winning his third at French Open 2024
Given that Carlos Alcaraz has won his third Grand Slam title at the age of 21, it comes as no surprise that the Spaniard was asked whether he aspired to match Novak Djokovic's all-time record of 24 Major titles in his post-match press conference.
Alcaraz admitted that while he is hopeful of equaling the Serbs "unbelievable" feat, he intends to enjoy his French Open triumph instead of dwelling on the prospect.
"I don't know (smiles), I hope so," Carlos Alcaraz said. "Djokovic has 24. So it is unbelievable, right now I can't think about it."
"I just want to keep going and let's see how many Grand Slams I'm going to take at the end of my career. Hopefully, reach the 24 but right now, I'm going to enjoy my third one and let's see in the future," he said.
Carlos Alcaraz's fourth Grand Slam title may not be too far away, as he is set to enter the upcoming Wimbledon Championships as the defending champion. The Spaniard narrowly edged past Djokovic in a thrilling final last year, claiming a 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory.