Nike Tennis #StoleTheShow With Street Tennis Featuring Federer, Nadal, Serena, Sharapova, Agassi, Sampras And More

by Tom Gainey | August 25th, 2015, 11:06 am
  • 28 Comments

Some of the greats in tennis history showed up in New York City last night for a special Nike function to recreate the famous Pete Sampras-Andre Agassi street tennis campaign from the 90s.

The incredible line-up including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, John McEnroe, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Agassi and Sampras. Plus, Eugenie Bouchard, Madison Keys, Grigor Dimitrov and Nick Kyrgios all on one court!

Wow!


Here are some pics and videos from the night:


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28 Comments for Nike Tennis #StoleTheShow With Street Tennis Featuring Federer, Nadal, Serena, Sharapova, Agassi, Sampras And More

skeezer Says:

Nick seems to already be working on rehabbing his persona, keep it up and be nice, promote the game ;). You can be a bad a** on the court to point, but channel that in your game, not @ someone else.


jalep Says:

Not sure it’s all that nice on a certain level. Commercial yes, Nick sells bad boy image and gets tennis in the news.

At the same time tennis is a little reduced to something more farcical like WWE and addictive to gossip and dramas like soap operas and Kardashians. But if that’s what it takes to promote tennis…

sells.https://twitter.com/hashtag/stealtheshow?
src=hash

Had to be a bit awkward (maybe) for Sharapova and Dimitrov; or maybe not. Have no idea what’s it’s like to be them. Pay me enough money and who knows what I’d do.


jane Says:

careful jalep, that sounds almost like some sorta indecent proposal! :O ;-)


sienna Says:

Roger since French open the best player wimning 2/3 tournements.

just one mistake in not taking first wimbly set.
Novak with 1/3 being a slam just behind fed.


jalep Says:

You caught the joke, thanks jane. Yeah, not really. There are some things…no amount of money… lol

Only would make it more weird for us tennis addicts if there was Wawrinka, Vekic, Kokkinakis in the picture.

Where were Nole and Andy for all this?


jane Says:

nole and andy aren’t part of NIKE world, hence not included jalep.


jalep Says:

ah, see? missed the point again = oblivious sometimes.

Certain things caught my eye; others –right over my head, jane.


jane Says:

happens to all of us jalep. i am glad you were missing novak and andy. ;)


jalep Says:

Also was caught in curious about all this the past year and its affect on Genie Bouchard’s serious tennis game.


jalep Says:

its effect has disrupted her affect on court ??

Anna Kournikova comes to mind.


jane Says:

it’s quite sad isn’t it? but did AK reach a slam final or win wimbledon as a junior? i honestly don’t know how much promise she showed, but eugenie certainly promised a lot. now, who knows if she’ll ever get it back.


jalep Says:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Kournikova

Had to look her up to find out about her tennis. She’s a known name not as connected to tennis — it’s her beauty that got promoted and took on its own life.

She was very good as a junior. By the time she reached WTA I think the sex and media appeal won. Why work so hard if you can be rich and famous with less physical strain…she had injuries.

Has to be tough to manage media attention and ambition when you have tabloid model beauty on the balances with commitment to serious training and time + hard work it takes to reach athletic potential.

Ana Ivanovic and Sharapova have done it very well.


chris ford1 Says:

Kournikova came up an accomplished young tennis player. Made Wimbledon semis her 1st try. Made 3 Slam Finals with Hingis in doubles in the early years and won 2. (In 2000, aka “The Two Vixens” or “The Spice Girls of Tennis”).
3 Tier 1 finals in singles, multiple Tier 1 Finals or wins in doubles..
Then simultaneously injuries and the media firestorm of discovery of a Russian beauty that destroyed the stereotype of babuskas that looked like a sack of potatoes, only uglier.
Pre-Sharapova and Kirilenko.

Or the Mannish Soviet Olympic athletes.


chris ford1 Says:

Djokovic and Nike. A marriage that didn’t happen, perhaps to Nole’s benefit. Nike had already “picked” Fed and Rafa in 2006-07 as it’s two stars, didn’t select Nole later since their marketing plan was set. So Nole went with Addidas for clothes then Sergio Tacchini, an excellent quality sporting clothes maker with a long tennis history. When that deal didn’t go as planned, Djokovic cast around. He was a superstar in his own right by then. Nike either wouldn’t pay him enough, or had long term endorsement contract stipulations that an endorser could not do “dangerous” sports like skiing, parachuting, motorcycle racing.. But Nole won’t sign a deal that blocks him from skiing.

Still, Nike is so ubiquitous, Nole has occasionally been of necessity, clad in Nike. His Addidas shoes for Wimbledon in 2009 failed to work as promised, so he substituted a pair of blanked out logo Nikes. With permission from Addidas. Part of his team from time to time is people with other endorsements – Becker with Puma gear and Serbian Davis Cup uniforms..
And sometimes, Djokovic gets to hang with other sports teams like Red Star in Belgrade and Boca Juniors in Argentina and dons their swooshed out gear.
From 2013 Exho tour with Rafa and Gonzalez, Moya, and Nalbandiian –

http://www.purepeople.com/article/rafael-nadal-et-novak-djokovic-rencontre-avec-will-smith-et-foot-en-argentine_a132311/2

And that’s 140,000 people in the stands. A difference from tennis.

With UniQlo – Djokovic is paid very well, can still ski, play football, get all tricked out with Head Gear and clothing and boots for winter sports. The slim fit design and understated quality fashion sense is perfect for Djokovic on and off court. UniQlo gets the most 2 most popular players in Asia – Kei and Nole. Along with Adam Scott. The endorsements have helped UniQlo a lot in marketing.


Angel Says:

UniQlo is sh*t compare to Nike, but I guess that’s the right brand for the clown.


jane Says:

what “angel”? have you morphed into “queen” or something? LOL.

actually it’s a matter of opinion.

i find nike rather generic and mainstream.

to me, uniqlo is much cooler and more stylish. i was in their store on oxford street in london and it was AWESOME – stylish clothes and functional sportswear both – not to mention packed full! :)


Tennis Vagabond Says:

Pretty funny. A bunch of people who hate each other, brought together by the love of money. Great spirit of sport there, Nike!


Okiegal Says:

I’m sure there is a website somewhere that could tell us the most popular brand on the planet? It’s got to be Nike, seems like more athletes wear it than uniqlo….just my observation. Uniqlo is probably more popular in European countries.


Okiegal Says:

@Jane…..Let’s face it…..If Novak and Rafa came out on court wearing leotards and combat boots, we would think they looked absolutely gorgeous!! Lol


jane Says:

exactly okie, and popular = mainstream. personally i tend not too favour very many mainstream things, from clothing designers, to blockbuster films, to pop music.

i’d love to see the leotards and combat boots though. er, or maybe not. ;) i admired young rafa’s unique fashion sense; only now he’s been normalized, i guess you could say. even fed used to have a long ponytail. and wasn’t he wearing puka shells when he played pete at wimbledon?


Gordon Says:

Genie Bouchard has turned into Nike’s biggest embarrassment.

Earlier in the same day she lost 6-1, 6-0 to a qualifier.

A year and a half ago she said, “I would rather be playing tennis than anything else in the world.”

Now she has a NHL boyfriend. And all these endorsement deals with companies that have to be regretting signing her.

I think she is spending less time on the courts these days. Either she gets her act together and gets back in the top 10 or she may vanish from these spotlight events, where she really doesn’t belong.

That’s the thing about big agencies and Nike and Coca-Cola endorsements – they say they don’t care if you lose, until you start losing.


Markus Says:

TV @ 11:32 PM: Hahaha but so true!


Markus Says:

Uniqlo is owned by the richest man in Japan and 35th in the world. Its worldwide sales is less than Nike, for sure, but nothing to scoff at.


Okiegal Says:

@Jane12:14.. Knew you would agree….kind of?? Lol
I wasn’t really aware of the uniqlo brand…..it’s all about Nike in the US….so it seems! I think Nike does some gorgeous things in tennis wear for the ladies. They are always very feminine, which I like. What can I say…..I likey Nike!! :)


chris ford1 Says:

Gordon – “Genie Bouchard has turned into Nike’s biggest embarrassment.”

Does the phrase “Just do it, Oscar the Bladerunner!” mean anything to you, Gordon, on relative embarassment levels Nike has endured?

Or his wife braining Nike Icon Tiger Woods and his posh car to boot with a golf club on discovery Nike’s highest paid endorser was spending those Nike bucks on 11 mistresses and porn stars??

—————-
To my mind, and I bought UniQlo gear in Singapore at a duty free place – high quality at a good price and it looks good on men and really good on women. And they under utilize in advertising how good Nole, who has a male model’s bod, looks in UniQlo stuff off-court. With Nishikori and Adams close in impressive presentation of UniQlo products.


jane Says:

thanks for that info on uniqlo markus. they also do amazing designer team ups – like their forthcoming one with Christophe Lemaire. ahhhh!!!! have to get me some.


Georgy Gal Says:

All the Djok fans are singing uniqlo’s praises!!! I am only familiar with Nike and like okie, I likey!!!


MMT Says:

“Had to be a bit awkward (maybe) for Sharapova and Dimitrov; or maybe not. Have no idea what’s it’s like to be them. Pay me enough money and who knows what I’d do.”

You know, I’m a gentleman, so I’m not going to say, “Send me your photo and we’ll find out.”

I’m just not going to say it.

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