Aryna Sabalenka US Open Outfit: Why Fans Are Divided Over Her Nike Look

Tennis outfits usually get a glance and then get forgotten by the next match. Not this one. The Aryna Sabalenka US Open outfit has been the talk of Flushing Meadows for days now, and the world number one clearly isn’t losing any sleep over the split reaction — she’s actively leaning into it. Whatever else happens during the rest of the tournament, this particular kit has already become one of the more talked-about fashion moments of the season.

What Is The Aryna Sabalenka US Open Outfit, Exactly?

Sabalenka debuted the look on Instagram back in late July, then wore it courtside on Tuesday during a mixed doubles match alongside Novak Djokovic at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The kit itself is a lot, in the best or worst way depending who you ask: a bright orange sports bra and matching shorts, a black jersey-style top layered over it, and bold gold jewelry including a statement choker. It’s not subtle, and it wasn’t meant to be. The pairing was part of the revived mixed doubles event, a star-studded, standalone format that also featured Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams teaming up this year, and Sabalenka and Djokovic making their official debut as partners after years of talk about pairing up.

‘Who Cares What People Think?’ — Sabalenka’s Response To The Backlash

Once photos hit social media, reactions split fast. One commenter wrote flatly, “That is a terrible design. She deserves better,” while another called it “simply unacceptable.” Not everyone agreed, though — plenty of fans pushed back just as hard in the other direction, praising the boldness of it.

Sabalenka herself wasn’t having any of the criticism. Speaking at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, she kept it simple: “Who cares what people think? I love it.” She went further, explaining that the design ties into a season-long concept from Nike — surfing for the Australian Open, ballet for Roland Garros, cricket for Wimbledon, and now basketball for the US Open, given the city’s obvious connection to the sport. She’s previously said she pushed Nike herself for something more creative after years of fairly conservative Grand Slam kits, and this is what came out of that.

What’s maybe more telling is that she says this happens regardless of what she wears. Even Nike’s simpler, more traditional looks in past years drew complaints, according to Sabalenka, which makes the current backlash feel less like a reaction to this specific outfit and more like a recurring pattern whenever she’s in the spotlight.

The Bigger Picture: Nike’s Basketball-Themed Grand Slam Concept

Sabalenka’s kit isn’t happening in isolation, either. It’s part of Nike’s wider Tennis Slam collection for this year’s tournament, which leans into mesh panels, netting, and cutouts across multiple players’ kits — Alexandra Eala and Carlos Alcaraz included, though their versions have landed with noticeably less controversy than Sabalenka’s black-and-orange combination. Reception across the collection has genuinely been mixed: some outlets have praised the concept as a fresh break from safe, forgettable tennis fashion, while others have been blunt about calling Sabalenka’s specific look one of the weaker executions of the theme. Nike has reportedly leaned on the same basketball-inspired netting for several other athletes this tournament, which suggests the brand is committed to the concept regardless of how any single kit lands with fans.

This Isn’t Tennis’ First Outfit Controversy

None of this is exactly new territory for the sport, if you zoom out. Tennis fashion has sparked genuine controversy well before this. Serena Williams’ black catsuit at the 2018 French Open is probably the most famous recent example — a functional, medically-motivated outfit that still got banned the following year over vague “respect the game” language, sparking a much bigger conversation about tennis’ long history of outfit controversies and who actually gets to decide what’s considered appropriate on court. Compared to that, the Aryna Sabalenka US Open outfit debate is relatively low stakes — nobody’s talking about banning it, it’s just splitting opinion the way bold fashion choices tend to.

Where Sabalenka Goes From Here

For what it’s worth, Sabalenka and Djokovic’s mixed doubles run didn’t last long — they were beaten in the first round by Henry Patten and Katerina Siniakova. That means Sabalenka’s focus shifts fully to her singles campaign as the defending champion, which starts August 30. Whether the Aryna Sabalenka US Open outfit conversation follows her into that bracket or fades once actual results start coming in is anyone’s guess. Either way, she’s made her position clear: she’s not changing anything to please critics, and she seems to be enjoying the attention either way.