It’s not often that you see skater culture align with that of tennis, but when they do, the result is colorful awesomeness you’ll want to wear all day long.
Recently, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and famed skater brand Paterson came together for a limited-edition capsule collection that marries the timeless sportiness of tennis with the grit of skater style.
The photo series was shot by photographer Adam Cohen at Flushing Meadows, a decision made by Paterson founder German Nieves as it’s the home of the U.S. Open and legendary East Coast skate spot. Each frame features apparel and accessories that are a perfect blend of athletics and lifestyle, and can be worn both on and off the court.
Featuring T-shirts, hoodies, hats and tote bags, the exclusive collaboration is part of the USTA’s “Let’s Tennis” campaign, which highlights the ever-changing world of the sport and showcases how it’s redefining its roots to match a variety of different lifestyles. The national governing body of the sport not only hopes this initiative will reel in new tennis players and fans, but also, encourage former players to once again pick up their racquets. The latter has proven to be less of a challenge now than in 2020, when COVID protocols were first put in place. As a matter of fact, recreational tennis proved to be the perfect social distancing sport with 21 million people rediscovering their racquets (a 22% increase from 2019), and 3 million new tennis players joining the sport (a 44% increase).
From its iconic logo to its neon color palette, the capsule collection is sure to appeal to both tennis players and fans. Coming in a bright lime green, black and white, the long and short sleeve T-shirts and hoodies carry dual brand graphics on its sleeves, chests and backs. The same details appear on the white and black baseball caps, bucket hats and tote bags that round out the assortment.
What makes this effort between the USTA and the streetwear brand stand out is not only the neon tennis colors used in its conception and the desire to grow the game, but also its charitable aspect. A portion of the proceeds from all sales of this limited-edition collection will go towards the USTA campaign, Rally to Rebuild. Designed to raise $20 million over the next 3 years, Rally to Rebuild will support 350 National Junior Tennis and Learning Centers across the United States, providing student athletes with both the resources and opportunities that were previously unavailable to them.
The Paterson x USTA collection is available now on the Paterson website, and will be available for purchase at the US Open starting on August 30.
