They're all coming for tennis again

CLAY SEASON 
Alcaraz is having a rough start on clay

Carlos Alcaraz is already feeling the heat at the start of the clay season. The Spaniard had to withdraw from the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters after days of hoping to be able to make it. But on Tuesday, the Wimbledon champion had to give up as the injury sustained to his right arm wasn’t letting go.

It’s a missed opportunity for Alcaraz as he wasn’t defending points this week, but he will defend titles in Barcelona and Madrid. He might join Rafael Nadal in a race against the clock for Roland-Garros if he can’t compete in Barcelona. Marca says Alcaraz will test himself on Thursday and Friday before deciding. Last year, I wondered if you should already worry about the young tennis star’s body. Unfortunately, it’s still accurate.

Let’s all clay lovers rejoice. For now, at least. Marca on Tuesday gave reassuring news regarding Rafael Nadal’s return to competition: he has arrived in Barcelona and will train on-site. And they were right as Nadal has been hitting Barcelona’s clay court for training on Wednesday.

Yet, he was quick to tell us all to calm down as even if he’s out there hitting in Barcelona, it doesn’t mean he’s sure to play the tournament.

LUXURY BRANDS BET ON TENNIS
Luxury designers are in love with tennis again

No idea if tennis is going to be a quiet or loud luxury fan, but the sport is for sure in its luxury brands era. Gucci has put all the bags on Jannik Sinner, and Louis Vuitton is back handling trophy cases, as we saw at the last Australian Open and as we will see at the Olympic Games. The brand, which works with Naomi Osaka and Carlos Alcaraz, did the same for Roland-Garros in 2017 and 2018. Dior and Tiffany had jumped on the Emma Raducanu bandwagon, and you can hit balls with a Chanel racquet.

Also, Zendaya (LVMH icon) at Indian Wells? To promote a movie involving tennis? Yes, that’s a very good timing also for the fashion brands. As is Paris 2024.

The ties between tennis and fashion brands are nothing new as we’ve all seen through the years with the likes of Roger Federer, the infamous Anna Wintour BFF who’s also been showing these Rolex watches for decades, Maria Sharapova (who wore a Riccardo Tisci dress at the US Open 2017) or Serena, who even received a fashion icon award, and Venus Williams whose tennis outfits have always been making fashion headlines and is no stranger to fashion weeks front rows. Also, Venus kinda killed it in this tennis version of the NBA tunnel walk at the US Open 2023, with Prada heels and shades. Also included in the luxury brands’ watch: the entire Royal Box of Wimbledon.

We all know that tennis and its country club kind of reputation has always been a great ground for luxury brands.

What’s different now? Well, right now it looks like a strategy and not anymore the desire to be attached to a few tennis icons. I’m seeing “tennis-core” everywhere I look on social media those days, and even Alo Yoga now has a tennis collection. And you know it’s serious when the Business Of Fashion is getting into it: with a global fanbase estimated at $1 billion, tennis is about to get chased after by these brands as much as Hollywood. When it’s not just one luxury brand pouncing on tennis, but a bunch of them: it’s a marketing plot, not a trend.

“It’s a fast-growing sport in Asia, a key market for luxury brands. Then there’s the new generation of players: a young, diverse, charismatic, and social-media savvy cohort with a taste for fashion who are creating new pathways for brands to authentically connect with consumers”, says BoF. They’re also quoting Jared Deng, founder of the celebrity news site Just Jared, about how the young stars of today are exciting for luxury designers. “With an older generation now graduating, and a new generation coming in, the timing for luxury brands couldn’t be better. They have an insane amount of talent shown on the court, and they have a global fanbase.” I cannot resist adding that these new stars are also for now way cheaper to sign than the Big4, Serena and Venus, Naomi or Maria at their peak.

Is any trouble looming in paradise? Well, it seems that the luxury fashion boom of the past few years might slow down: for example, Gucci is giving some headaches to Kering.

QUESTION OF THE DAY 
Alcaraz, to worry or not to worry (again)?

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO 
It’s not just about sleeping quality

Every athlete knows how crucial it is to get a good sleep for recovery. But some experts are going the extra mile: sleeping, sure, but what is the healthiest sleep position?

If you have spine or neck pain, breathing issues, or if you wake up in the morning with body aches: it might all be solved by how you sleep. So it’s time to decide if you want to remain team sleeping on your back, on your side, or on your belly.

Dr Abhinav Singh, interviewed about it by USA Today, reminds people that we tend to switch positions around 20 to 25 times in our sleep without remembering. “But still, If you're experiencing regular pain or discomfort in the morning that may be a signal to talk to your doctor about your sleep habits. If you wake up consistently unrefreshed, no matter what position, it’s time to say something.”

BUSINESS / MEDIA
Hermès is coming for women’s sports

• Hermès has, on April 9th, launched its “most important launch” of a women’s watch line in more than a decade. And the brand is coming for sports. That’s what Laurent Dordet, the brand’s chief executive told the FT. The new watch is called the Hermès Cut and it’s a mechanical sports watch aimed at women currently being unveiled at the Watches and Wonders show in Geneva. The Hermès Cut comes in to replicate the success of the brand’s first sports watch, the H08. If you want to get it - or, more, if your bank account allows you to get it - don’t wait because Hermès makes fewer than 80,000 watches a year. Also, we told you this week how women’s sports were all the rage and could generate over $1 billion in 2024!
  

• ESPN's new streaming service will be available through Disney+, Bob Iger announced during Disney’s annual shareholder meeting. This ESPN streaming service should debut in 2025.

THE ODDITY OF THE DAY 
Buying a £20 million flat… and forgetting about it

Have you ever forgotten that you bought a very - very! - expensive property? I’d say no. Well, some people do though. The Times tells this very rich people story of a man who had forgotten he bought a £20 million flat in Grosvenor Square in London. Shocking!

At some point, he called the concierge asking if he could come and see the place because he thought he might have bought something there. And after it was confirmed, he called his wife in awe: “Darling, why are we staying in the Connaught? Did you know we have a place around the corner and they have sheets on the beds, they have fresh flowers, it’s amazing.” Amazing, indeed.

LATEST NEWS 
Break Points…

• Daniil Medvedev went “crazy” in Monte-Carlo.

• Feliciano Lopez told As that Rafael Nadal was “getting better” and that his injury recovery was “improving” He added that he was hoping Nadal “would recover as soon as possible” so he could “say goodbye in the best possible way, by playing. (…) It would be very sad for all the tennis fans if Rafa couldn’t retire in the way he deserves.” The director of the Mutua Madrid Open is still hoping to see Nadal in the Masters 1000 by the end of the month.

• The Laver Cup is coming to Berlin this year (20-22 Sept.) and if you want to go, you might be interested in the new packages that will be on sale on April 17th. Also on Thursday, they announced that Alex De Minaur, Taylor Fritz, and Tommy Paul were joining Team World. Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Alexander Zverev had already been announced for Team Europe.

• “If you think about it, that amazing tournament, how good it would have been to come back home and have five days of holiday in Italy.” Grigor Dimitrov had a dream but the schedule had another plan. He’s fine with it, as he explains Tennis Majors.

EDITOR’S PICKS 
It’s all about that healthy skin

• Who you gonna call? More often than not, it’s that Cicalfate cream from Avène. When nothing else will soothe that skin of yours? Give it a shot. Like, for real.

• It’s spring and clay season, so if you’re lucky you’re about to spend a lot of hours outside sliding on the red. But enjoying the red clay doesn’t mean wanting to match the color so please as usual: put that sunscreen on. My favorite one, especially for reactive skin? This Caudalie fluid (not cream, fluid, it makes a major difference) is a wonder. My other Caudalie go-to? The Vinosource-Hydra line, their serum to treat dark spots, the resveratrol-lift serum and their salicylic serum.

• Nearly everything from La Roche-Posay is great for those of us who cannot put many things on our skin. But recently I’ve fallen in love with that Toleriane Dermallergo fluid moisturiser. I keep it for the night routine, it’s like a veil of comfort.

*^{If you buy something from some of these links, I may earn an affiliate commission}