Tennis Atlantic

Nobody asked me, but in a world with horrible and intractable problems, it’s hard for me to fathom that seeing an item in a gift shop could momentarily make me forget all of my problems for even a moment. Nobody asked me why I did it, but I did a double stop at the merch shop at the Credit One Charleston Open last weekend. A full-fledged person who has been receiving membership offers from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) for years, which I am certainly not, I was immediately awestruck by the 1970’s Charlie’s Angels Slo-Mo graphics of two of the finest things I’ve ever seen in tennis tournament swag. These beautiful t-shirts. I immediately bought the pair after realizing in the dressing room that they are very slim cuts. Reigning Charleston champion Danielle Collins and USA #1/#2 Jessica Pegula were the only player shirts offered for sale here. I would buy one for every player in the Top 50 if I could find them. At $30 (plus 9% South Taxolina charges), it’s easily the best value at the merch store on Daniel Island.

These tees remind me of everything good about childhood in the 70’s. They’re part baseball card, part bedroom poster and totally bussin’.

I asked a couple of top 20 players what they thought of them by wearing them to Media Day at the Charleston Open.

I asked Emma Navarro what she thought of the Jess Pegula shirt as I modeled it for her a little bit. Her response?

“First of all, where can I get myself one of those? I would rock in that for sure,” she said.

On the WTA seeming to move toward individual player branding, she added some insight.

“I think tennis, as a whole, has gained a lot more in popularity, and you know, with the Netflix show Break Point, it’s been more mainstream than maybe it was for a few years. It’s important for fans to see personalities and to get to know them more.”

When I modeled Danielle Collins shirt, this was her reply:

“That’s amazing! Oh my goodness!”

And merch store employees reported seeing her and pooch companion Quincy in the shop on Sunday, so they were surprised that she didn’t see it for sale, but she has me fooled.

On a player branding initative:

“I think it’s great for us. I always said, why don’t we have our own merchandise and different fun products for the fans. A few weeks ago I did my own merchandise, the richsport drop, which was super fun, but obviously in a different context. So it’s nice that the fans are able to buy our merchandise and be able to share that with us. I think it’s a great way to create our fan base and do something that’s a little bit different off the court and it gives the fans something to look forward to.”

Totally agree.

I will reach out to WTA to discover the entire line but this is exactly what girls on the public high school tennis teams need to see to believe in themselves and to celebrate their WTA heroes. Well done, WTA, for something good you did. And nobody asked me, but Congratulations, players for working so hard your entire lives to finally be awarded with being noticed outside of the usual patrician tennis tournament gift shop crowd. You did this.

–Steve Fogleman in Charleston