Feature: How The Tennis Elite Keep Time In Style

Given the aura of prestige surrounding tennis, it was inevitable that the world’s leading luxury watch brands muscled in on the sport. It’s a game that conjures up images of impeccably behaved spectators in straw boater hats and designer shades, glasses of Pimms in hand. And don’t forget all those steadfast traditions and glamorous locations.

Also, starting out in tennis requires access to courts, expensive rackets and sponsorship deals. It’s not like football where you can arrange an impromptu game on the street, with jumpers for goalposts and a squashed Pepsi can for a ball.

Even the scoring term ‘love’ – meaning zero or nil – is said to have originated from the pre-game friendliness that existed between opponents (before they started whacking balls at each other and the competitive animosity crept in). Compare this to football where rival fans threaten to kick each other’s teeth in before the match has even started!

So it’s not surprising that Rolex, a company that has always been a marketing innovator, was the first watch brand to fully embrace the world of tennis. In 1978 it became Wimbledon’s official timekeeper, going on to support the other three Grand Slam tournaments in Australia, France and the US, as well as some of the biggest players in the game.

These included one of the most successful female players of the 80s and 90s, Chris Evert, and, more recently, Roger Federer, whose Swiss nationality, phenomenal success and chivalrous manner on the court – he’s not one for racquet-throwing tantrums – made him an obvious choice as a Rolex ambassador.

The Sky-Dweller is one of several watches worn by Rolex ambassador Roger Federer

Rolex has a few more tennis players on its roster but none as A-list as Federer, arguably the “G.O.A.T”, as they say in the sporting universe. Rolex and tennis, then, have had a strong and seemingly unbreakable bond for over four decades. But that’s not to say other watch brands haven’t made their own inroads into the sport. Here are three that have shown Rolex it isn’t the only big hitter in the game.

Richard Mille

With Rolex joining forces with Roger Federer, you might think Omega would have signed up his long-standing rival, Rafael Nadal. But the Spanish ace pledges his allegiance to nouveau avant-garde watchmaker Richard Mille.

The Richard Mille RM 27-03 worn by Rafael Nadal

And this is no ordinary brand affiliation, either. Whereby Federer discreetly slips on his Rolex after the game for the benefit of press photographers, Rafa actually wears his RM 27-03 model (retailing at an eye-watering $725,000) while playing, its weight a negligible 19 grams, which is about a third of the weight of a tennis ball. It can also withstand around 10,000 Gs of force. Richard Mille has also served as the official time-keeper at several tennis tournaments.

Audemars Piguet

The most successful women’s singles player of the past two decades, Serena Williams got signed up by Audemars Piguet in 2014 and, like Rafael Nadal, wears her watch while playing. But one of the AP watches she wears is no featherweight model specially designed for the court. Her hefty AP Royal Oak Offshore Chronograph in steel with diamond bezel probably weighs as much as her racket. Off-court, she’s been seen wearing AP’s blingtastic ‘Diamond Outrage’ model, not so much a watch as a tiara for the wrist. AP also sponsors top Swiss player, Stan Wawrinka.

Rado

Former Wimbledon and US Open champion Andy Murray has slipped down the world rankings recently, hampered by injury, which isn’t good news for Rado, the watch brand that sponsors him.

Andy Murray wearing a Rado HyperChrome model

And they can’t have been too impressed by a tabloid newspaper article published after his Wimbledon win in 2013 that suggested the Rado watch he was photographed wearing while holding his trophy probably doesn’t get used that much. It was set at the wrong time! Harsh.

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