Tennis has produced plenty of stars famous for what they wore on the court. It’s made a fashion icon out of the likes of Anna Kournikova. Likewise, Emma Raducanu’s Tiffany jewelry pieces have already become the talk of the tennis world.
Like Raducanu’s jewelry, it isn’t always what a player wears off the court that raises eyebrows. Indeed, many players have made fashion statements on the court in the form of glasses. Players wearing glasses is not new – Billie Jean King often wore glasses while playing, and she often stressed their importance in her career.
Tennis Players Who Wore Glasses On The Court
Whether they wore sunglasses or eyeglasses, these tennis players made huge statements with what was on their faces during their matches.
Sam Stosur
Sam Stosur is one of many players who chose to wear an iconic brand of sunglasses while playing. Indeed, Oakley sunglasses have become a staple of the game for many players. Stosur preferred the Half Jacket range when she was on the court. They’re both lightweight and functional, with polarized lenses to protect from glare and high-quality acetate frames.
The 39-year-old Australian player won the US Open in 2010 and was once ranked number one in the world for doubles, winning the French Open (2006), Australian Open (2019), and twice the US Open (2005, 2021).
Natasha Zvereva
Natasha Zvereva was often seen on the court wearing sunglasses and was also known to favor Oakley. She often wore a wraparound pair, which increased the stability while playing, and had tinted orange lenses for some matches.
Though Zvereva played singles tennis, she became famous for her doubles tennis. From 1989 to 1997, she amassed 18 Grand Slam titles, including four Wimbledon titles in a row between 1991 and 1994. She also broke ground politically as the first major Soviet Union athlete to publicly request that she be able to keep her tournament earnings, which were going into Soviet coffers, while she received only expense money.
Janko Tipsarevic
Janko Tipsarevic is a player we featured in our article Tennis Careers That Sparked But Never Flamed. Like Billie Jean King, he needed prescription glasses for tennis. He also favored Oakley, utilizing the Oakley True Digital Corrective Lens technology when beating Andy Roddick in 2010. Towards the end of his career, he wore the Oakley Rx Flak Jacket sunglasses, which are popular with cyclists and golfers.
Unlike our first two players, Tipsarevic never tasted Grand Slam success. However, he made it into the quarter-finals of the US Open in 2011 and 2012 and was a member of the Davis Cup-winning team in 2010.
Martina Navratilova
While Tipsarevic needed prescription sunglasses, Martina Navratilova needed regular glasses to get her through a match. The image of her wearing eyewear and lifting trophies is something etched onto the minds of tennis fans from the eighties. She started wearing glasses in 1985, attributing a loss in form to her failing eyesight.
The fix must have worked for her; she won three Wimbledon titles on the bounce (1985, 1986, and 1987) while wearing glasses, as well as the Australian Open (1985) and two US Opens (1986, 1987). She also captured 13 Grand Slam doubles titles while wearing eyeglasses, usually with long-time doubles partner Pam Shriver.
