On Monday, at the beginning of the U.S. Open women’s singles draw, two days after her induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and five years after she officially left the game, Maria Sharapova will once again stand center court in Flushing Meadow to receive an official U.S. Open ring. As usual, she will be wearing a tennis dress designed to make history.
Specifically, a new version of the tennis dress she wore when she won the U.S. Open in 2006.
That one, inspired by Audrey Hepburn’s little black Givenchy dress in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and bedecked with Swarovski crystals at the neckline, was the first “evening” dress worn by a female competitor. It was also the first time a player had worn a different look for a night game than a day game, and overnight it made Ms. Sharapova one of the first tennis dress influencers. This dress is similar, though rather than stopping at her upper thigh, it is mid-calf length with a long pleated underskirt.
“It’s a version of the dress for someone that’s grown up,” said Ms. Sharapova, 38, a few days before the ceremony. And it is a sign that she is getting ready to compete again — though this time in a new arena.
Ms. Sharapova’s legacy as a player is complicated. She was never a beloved tennis figure. Often referred to as the “ice queen” during her time on the women’s tour, when she won five Grand Slam tournaments, she famously saw her peers not as comrades in arms but obstacles to be eliminated. Injuries and a 15-month suspension for what the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled was unintentional doping further muddied her story, and she retired in 2020.
But she was also among the first athletes to think of themselves as a brand, a strategic approach that made her the highest paid female athlete in any sport for 11 consecutive years, from 2005 to 2015 — this despite being ranked No. 1 for only 21 nonconsecutive weeks. She was the face of TAG Heuer, Tiffany, Porsche and Motorola and one of the first tennis players to demand a seat at the Nike design table. She was a front-row presence before athletes on the front row were a regular thing.
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