The 2024 Roland-GarrosShoe Report
The 2024 Roland-GarrosShoe Report
The Parisian dirt is a backdrop for fresh colorways and collaborations.
The Parisian dirt is a backdrop for fresh colorways and collaborations.
By Tim NewcombMay 28, 2024
Tennis takes on a distinct hue when entering the grounds of Roland-Garros for the French Open. The fashion follows suit. With the reds and oranges prominent across the Parisian grounds, shoemakers tune their colorways to match. This year, though, offers a unique approach to the clay, with New Balance celebrating gray, Asics embracing Novak Djokovic in red, and Babolat—yes, Babolat—partnering with Benoit Paire on a limited-edition model. Yup, Benoit Paire has his own special-edition sneaker design.
Let’s explore some of the best sneakers you’ll see in Paris this year.
Image courtesy of Babolat
Image courtesy of Babolat
BENOIT PAIRE
Babolat Propulse Fury 3 Paire
In one of the more startling—and we mean this in the most thrilling version of the word
possible—releases of the Roland-Garros season, French brand Babolat has paired with French player Benoit Paire on a special-edition clay Propulse Fury 3 model. And there’s nothing too bland about the symbolism in this design.
Released on May 8 as a limited global launch—only 48 pairs are being sold in the United States, for example—the white, orange, and black colorway matches his French Open kit from Celio. The Paire model also features distinct callouts on the side, such as the phrase “powered by Ben” and three symbols placed side by side. The tennis racquet and ball are a bit more mundane and self-explanatory, but then things get interesting. The middle symbol is a cocktail glass complete with what appears to be an olive on the rim of the glass. It is meant to symbolize Paire’s party lifestyle and his willingness to taunt those who don’t agree with it. The third symbol is a cat, a reference to a vulgar phrase he yells to opponents after they hit a winner.
Only Paire will wear the model during the French Open, giving the spirited player a unique aesthetic to go with his distinct personality.
Image courtesy of New Balance
Image courtesy of New Balance
COCO GAUFF
New Balance Coco CG1 “Grey”
With the only signature* shoe in the sport, we can expect something special from New Balance and Coco Gauff every single major. But the 2024 French Open falling in May offers up a style bigger than a fresh colorway for the Coco Gauff CG1 sneaker.
New Balance has long celebrated the color gray as a brand-wide signature color for performance shoes since the 1980s—originally it was meant to help what were primarily white shoes not show use as quickly. What was once an annual May 1 release of gray styles turned into a May-long event in 2024, with the Grey CG1 releasing May 24, ahead of the French Open.
This special-edition Grey Coco goes gray all over and includes hairy suede accenting. Not only does the Grey Coco provide a unique take on the nearly two-year-long run of the signature sneaker style, but it will also stand in sharp contrast to other shoes seen on the Parisian clay.
*A signature sneaker is defined as a model designed in collaboration with an athlete for the specific needs of that athlete and is not an inline model that is given special “player edition” colorways or designs tied to an athlete.
Image courtesy of Lacoste
Image courtesy of Lacoste
DANIIL MEDVEDEV
Lacoste AG-LT Ultra
Daniil Medvedev is fully French when it comes to his equipment. He wields a Tecnifibre racquet, and that brand’s parent company, Lacoste, is his head-to-toe sponsor, which makes Medvedev the feature athlete when it comes to Lacoste footwear.
The Russian player added his personal Lacoste-driven logo to his gear at the start of 2023, and his 2024 French Open footwear design is no different. The color blocking on the AG-LT Ultra features a dark blue topped with white. Accents of red highlight the aesthetics, while the Medvedev logo appears in white on the heel.
A non-Medvedev version of the same shoe will be worn by Arthur Fils, a French player sporting the brand at the French Open for the first time since signing with Lacoste in late 2023.
Image courtesy of Asics
Image courtesy of Asics
NOVAK DJOKOVIC
Asics Court FF3 “Novak”
While the 2024 clay line for Asics generally softens with the Gel-Resolution 9 and Solution Speed FF 3 in various shades of blues and yellows with white, the Novak Djokovic-worn Court FF 3 Novak blasts us with red.
It’s an in-your-face reminder—his Lacoste kit will also feature a mixture of red tones—that the world No. 1 is at the top of the ATP rankings list, and he’s doing it on his own terms. It’s also a departure from the two differing blue models he wore at the last two major events earlier this year in Australia and last year in New York City.
The multitoned red on the 2024 clay version of the Court FF 3 Novak, which also features the Asics Tiger stripe in white, includes the Djokovic logo on the heel and Djokovic detailing on the tongue of the sneaker.
Djokovic signed to Asics in 2018 and wore the latest Gel-Resolution model at the time. He later switched to the Court FF model and helped market the launch of the third iteration of the shoe that released in January 2023. Asics has adorned the heel of the shoe with a “24” to again mark the number of major victories for Djokovic.
— Rafael Nadal gave an early look at his custom Nike shoes when he started practicing on the clay at Roland-Garros. His black, white, and yellow shoes—which appear to be a nod to the pair he debuted in 2005—have a touch of retro Breathe Free Max II feel to them and feature the Rafa wordmark on both the tongue and the heel. But when it came time to take the court, Nadal went with bright blue shoes to match his kit, offering up a Zoom Vapor Cage 4 Rafa with plenty of pop.
— Nike also has a neutral, French-inspired collection ready for Paris. Done up in the neutral colors the Nike line embraces for the 2024 French Open—the brand calls it sanddrift, thunder blue, gum medium brown and metallic gold—each Nike model has its own take on the colorway. The entire Nike line features the fresh colorways with graphics on the sockliners and tongues distinct to the French connection. Lace tags also feature “Nike” on one foot and “j’aime” on the other.
— It’s dragon time for Naomi Osaka. She has pulled on the Nike GP Challenge 1 Naomi Osaka shoes with a mythical dragon on the right shoe and then the “calming aura” of some of her favorite flowers on the left. The asymmetrical design is beloved by Osaka and she’s wearing yet another bold and busy shoe, just for her, at the French Open.
— Yonex is bringing out a mix of green-and-orange and sand-and-orange Eclipsion 5 clay-court models for the French Open. Expect to see Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, and Elena Rybakina sporting these colorways.
— Andy Murray isn’t afraid of both the old and the new. Making noise for switching—after a personal trial of frames—to a Yonex racquet for the French Open, his shoes remain from his Under Armour days, a deal that expired back in 2018. Under Armour is not producing new shoes for Murray, as he still just dips back into the stash he has had for years. For Roland Garros, he broke out a gray pair to match his Andy Murray Collection kit from Castore.
— Yonex has upped the brightness level for Stan Wawrinka’s player-edition Eclipsion line of shoes. His neon yellow shoes include “Stan” on the heel with a Swiss flag and icons depicting a kangaroo, the Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty, signifying the locations of his three major victories.
— Adidas athletes will embrace yellows, oranges, and black for the 2024 French Open colorways
Follow Tim Newcomb’s tennis gear coverage on Instagram at Felt Alley Tennis.
