Your Favourite Tennis Players and Their Best Watches
Tennis and luxury watches are usually commonly associated, especially with Rolex being the official timekeeper of many of the grand slam tournaments and more notably for Wimbledon. Moreover, several top-seed tennis players are official ambassadors for luxury watch brands, and in this blog, we will have a look at our favourite tennis players and the watches they wear.
Rafael Nadal: RM 27-01 Tourbillon
Rafael Nadal is the most accomplished grand slam tennis player with 23 under his belt following his win of the Roland Garros tournament in France this year. Accompanying him on the court is Richard Mille, having started their relationship in 2010 and have since been making incredible timepieces that defy the norms of horology, backed by a science only the Richard Mille brand could achieve.
The first watch given to him was the Tourbillon RM 27-01, which at the time was the lightest tourbillon watch in the world, weighing just 18.83 grams including the strap.
The watch features a grade 5 titanium baseplate attached to the case with several steel cables acting as pulleys attached to a tensioner which allows for up to 5000 g of acceleration without disturbing the function of the watch.
The watch case is made of Carbon and is in an anthracite black due to the high concentration of carbon nanotubes placed on a fabric strap in multiple colourways to match Nadal’s style on the court.
Roger Federer: Datejust 41 'Wimbledon'
Roger Federer is arguably the most elegant player on the court, and this carries through into his watch collection. Federer originally signed a 10-year $15 million dollar deal with Rolex in 2006, sporting several watches over the years, and he has since renewed his endorsement with Rolex in 2016. Although he has been seen wearing all kinds of Rolex, from Day-Date’s to the Explorer and GMT-Master II, but we would like to draw attention to a more contextually suitable watch.
Marking his record-breaking eighth Wimbledon triumph in 2017 he sported the Rolex Datejust 41mm ‘Wimbledon’ Dial. This watch is two-tone with yellow gold and stainless steel and features a smooth bezel in yellow gold as well. The Federer-favoured watch is fitted on the oyster bracelet as opposed to its jubilee bracelet variation. The ‘Wimbledon’ dial is in many ways the unofficially-official flagship watch of the tournament. The dial is in a slate grey with contrasting green roman numerals that is a nod to the green grass of Wimbledon.
The watch features the in-house calibre 3235 movement that gives 70 hours of power reserve.
Carlos Alcaraz: Rolex Daytona 116500LN
The newcomer Carlos Alcaraz has been a name that has climbed the ladder in the tennis world reaching No.6 in the men’s singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals. He has notably won the Miami ATP tournament beating even Nadal.
But what strikes us more is his taste in watches, especially as an ambassador for Rolex. After winning ATP Miami he was seen wearing the Rolex Daytona ref. 116500LN with the black dial which features a black cerachrom bezel with silver outlining on the sub-dials. The watch Is resistant to 100 meters underwater and has the in-house Calibre 4130 movement that provides approximately 72 hours of power reserve. The watch is fitted on the oyster bracelet and is made of oyster-steel, a robust material manufactured by Rolex. All in all, this watch is the pinnacle of Rolex steel sports models and is upwards of £27,000 on the secondary market… not bad at all for the 19-year-old.
