The Style Notes

Tennis players' on-court style has been gaining more and more attention in recent years, and the U.S. Open is no exception. When fashionistas like Venus and Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova step onto the court, their outfits are under more scrutiny than their backhands. Many of the top players chose two outfits for the tournament: one for daytime matches, and one for nightime ones. Defending champ Serena, below left, chose a black Nike dress with magenta accents and large hoop earrings for her night matches. For daytime, she switched it up and went with a magenta dress with black accents. Venus, below center, designed a hot pink, collared dress with her own line, EleVen. The dress features pleating on both sides and the EleVen insignia on the back. Maria Sharapova, on the comeback trail after shoulder surgery, custom-designed her black and silver geometric dress with Nike and is wearing Tiffany earrings designed by Frank Gehry. In an on-court interview after her first round win, Maria said that the dress was inspired by New York City's architecture. For her daytime matches, Maria is wearing a pale pink dress of the same design with yellow trim and a matching visor instead of the headband.

Caroline Wozniacki, a Danish 19-year-old ranked number 9 in the world, recently replaced Maria Kirilenko as the new face of Stella McCartney's Adidas line. She debuted her new dress at the U.S. Open, seen below left. Stella McCartney commented on their collaboration: "It's very rare for a fashion designer to dress one of the top 10 players in the world. I couldn't be more thrilled and happy to be given that opportunity. Lets hope this will enhance her performance!" Wozniacki is equally thrilled: "With the Adidas by Stella McCartney tennis line I feel like I have everything any fashionable female tennis player always dreams about: cutting-edge Adidas technologies combined with Stella's unique designs that actually perform." (Get your own Stella McCartney tennis dress, similar to Wozniacki's, here.) Another stylish player in the top 10 is Jelena Jankovic (below center), who, despite being ousted in the second round, turned heads in her ruffled red number. American teen sensation Melanie Oudin, below right, made her own fashion statement by customizing her colorful shoes and inscribed the word "Believe" on the side. You better believe that this 17-year-old has tons of talent, because she ousted number 4 seed Elena Dementieva in the second round and former US Open champ Maria Sharapova in the third round. 

Now on to the men's style. This year, tennis' elite chose bright colors for their on-court outfits. Rafael Nadal, below left, chose a sunny yellow Nike shirt complemented by blue wristbands and headband. Nike says that Nadal's look was inspired "by the streets of New York City and its signature yellow taxicabs. Also featuring a multi-row dot print across the chest, the polo is inspired by the colorful numeric subway signs of New York City." Defending champ and world number 1 Roger Federer went with a red Nike polo and contrasting black accents. In the last few years, Federer has pioneered the style movement for men's tennis: "I think it's important to look good on the court," Federer said at Wimbledon in '07. "I see that players are more aware now of the details, that the headband matches with the shorts, so forth. I always thought that was important, you know, that the whole entire outfit matches together." Serbia's Novak Djokovic, below right, went with an tangerine shirt with dark orange graphics that also appear on his shoes and socks.

Let's not forget about the stylish celebrities in attendance. Sienna Miller showed up with a new beau, British DJ George Baker, and watched Venus Williams play, while Anna Wintour watched her favorite player, Roger Federer. Kim Catrall, currently filming Sex and the City the Movie 2, also made an appearance at the U.S. Open in an off-the-shoulder black top and jeans. From a fashion perspective, this year's US Open turned out to be a grand slam.

[photos from: yahoo sports and usopen.org]