ROLAND GARROS — In a city like Paris, looking good is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.
There are few places where that is more true than if you are the centre of attention on Court Philippe-Chatrier, walking out in front of 15,000 people. They are at the French Open to watch you play tennis, but in the fashion capital of the world, they are also there to judge your outfit.
I’ve spent two weeks watching for the best and worst looks of the 2026 French Open – but I am also hardly likely to trouble Vogue’s Best Dressed People list any time soon – so I thought I should get an expert in to help. Eliza Wastcoat, who runs “It’s Eliza’s World” on Instagram and creator of “The Fashion Edit”, has given me her own expert opinion and the verdict of her audience.
Marta Kostyuk, Wilson
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk enjoyed her best ever French Open in tennis terms, reaching the semi-final before losing to eventual champion Mirra Andreeva. Like Eliza herself, I should add, Kostyuk has a sponsorship deal with Wilson, who have become an increasingly popular player within the tennis clothing game, but I personally was sceptical of the outfit donded by stablemate Alex de Minaur (it looked like PE kit to me) and that worn by the Ukrainian herself.
“This dress Wilson first released in 2024 and it came out in a field green, and that was the real entrance of Wilson in terms of like, ‘Oh they’re here to play with tennis fashion,’ and this dress in particular is called the Winning Tennis Dress and it’s very very popular,” Wastcoat explains.
“It’s basically a shell dress so it doesn’t have bra or shorts built in, which a lot of women prefer, and I think what they’ve done well with this dress is it fits a lot of different body types, whether you have boobs or no boobs, whether you’re like slightly bigger on the bottom, it works for a lot of different shapes.
“I think this colourway with the blue racket looks really nice on her.”
- It’s Eliza’s World: 94 per cent
- The i Paper: 41 per cent
Aryna Sabalenka, Nike
The world No 1 made a significant splash on social media when she revealed this dress, which is supposed to be specific to her (although world No 88 Oksana Selekhmeteva then popped up in it as well).
“I know that she likes this one the most out of everything she’s worn of late,” says Wastcoat.
“I know that she would love to have a lot more creative input and say in terms of what she’s getting from Nike, but as far as I know, that’s not even in store next year, either.
“I would love to see her in something that she actually has input over, because in juxtaposition to someone like Naomi [Osaka], it would be nice to have seen more players have creative control of their kits. But this is probably one of the better ones that I’ve seen from them for her. “
I personally loved it on Instagram but in day-light, the two-level effect was a bit lost, so I had to mark it down.
- It’s Eliza’s World: 83 per cent
- The i Paper: 75 per cent
Naomi Osaka, Nike
How did we get this far without mentioning Naomi Osaka, who made the fashion splash of the tournament on multiple occasions? She walked out for each match with a different skirt or train attached to her tennis dress, which in itself was shiny and beautiful.
“I don’t love the silhouette of the dress, the way that it’s cut,” says Wastcoat.
“I think that’s kind of been a consistent problem for me with Naomi’s kits: I just don’t think the dress itself is super flattering when she’s standing still.”
She adds: “Personally, every time I’ve worn anything with sequins on it, it’s very itchy! I am surprised if he has found a way to create layers so that the sequence themselves are not itchy for her, I don’t know how this fits the performance bill.”
For me, it came into its own when Roland Garros scheduled their first women’s night match in three years, and Osaka truly sparkled. She may have lost the match but the dress won me over.
- It’s Eliza’s World: 48 per cent
- The i Paper: 83 per cent
Coco Gauff, New Balance
Gauff had different versions of this dress (in which she failed to defend her French Open title) for different times of day and the slightly more purple version was the most approved of any with the “It’s Eliza’s World” audience.
“I think the purple colour looks really nice against the clay,” Wastcoat says.
“How it’s a little bit more mauve, it kind of goes with her racket. I’m always a fan of her little frilly socks, and the way she coordinates with her headbands and shoes and wristbands.
“Generally speaking, I’m impressed by and excited that New Balance always has something new for her and new innovations, and that they’re finally starting to make some of it available to the public.”
Surprisingly, not all tennis gear worn by players is available for purchase – but this one is.
- It’s Eliza’s World: 96 per cent
- The i Paper: 79 per cent
Tommy Paul, New Balance
“I hated this,” Wastcoat says. “This is a disaster. This type of pink does not look good on the clay.
“I could kind of see this having a moment, maybe at the beginning of the year in Australia. This to me does not feel Paris at all.”
I couldn’t agree more, Eliza. The running shorts are particularly bad.
- It’s Eliza’s World: 42 per cent
- The i Paper: 29 per cent
Joao Fonseca/Iga Swiatek, On
Now I was expecting to see an On athlete in one of the singles finals, but Cobolli was pretty far down my list. However, he defied expectations and put up a great fight in the final before being downed by Alexander Zverev. And perhaps because of exposure over time, On’s look – which has not changed much – has grown on me. Not so much Eliza.
“Based on what my audience tells me, people are really sick of this motif in general, and would love for On to do something different,” Wastcoat says.
“I think fans are bored, they would like to see on do something else, and I would agree. I think this has been done before, and it’s time to change.”
- It’s Eliza’s World: Swiatek 14 per cent, Fonseca 46 per cent
- The i Paper: 55 per cent
Novak Djokovic, Lacoste
Wastcoat says: “Lacoste did a nice job of playing with the hues of the clay itself and finding something that blended really well with the background. I also was a really big fan of the walkout jacket he had on for the first round, that custom jacket. I know they did one for Venus [Williams] in Miami, and now one for him with the silhouette of the wolf on the back.
“A lot of people didn’t love the oversized kind of look to it, I thought it was very in line with Lacoste’s current runway collections.”
This was news to me – not a big runway guy – but I liked Djokovic in light orange on dark orange.
- It’s Eliza’s World: 90 per cent
- The i Paper: 85 per cent
Diana Shnaider, Yonex
The queen of the bandana. Shnaider has always been on my radar as a bandana aficionado myself, and I love that Yonex are now making them for her to match the dress. The tennis dress also has cool patterns in between the pleats, so I was very pro.
“I actually had some messages from players who wear Yonex saying that they were like very upset when they opened their kit box and like were horrified, and the only thing that they wanted to wear was this black dress, so I think it’s the best part of their collection,” Wastcoat says.
“I still don’t feel like Yonex, especially for the women, that are particularly flattering. In general, their women’s gear could step up a lot.”
- It’s Eliza’s World: n/a
- The i Paper: 90 per cent
