Taylor Fritz Wants Tennis to Embrace the Tunnel Fit

The American turned heads at Wimbledon when he walked out in a BOSS suit as more tennis players lean into the walkout fit.

Taylor Fritz spoke at an event with BOSS in the brand's Columbus Circle location. | Courtesy of BOSS

Tennis is fully embracing its place in the fashion world. Taking a page from the tunnel fits that have become fixtures in other professional sports like basketball, tennis players are increasingly leaning into the popular walk-on looks as they arrive on court.

Walk-On Fashion

Some players like Lorenzo Musetti and Novak Djokovic have dabbled in the walk-on space with custom jackets designed by their clothing sponsors while others like Naomi Osaka have gone all out with an entirely new outfit over their on-court kits.

Taylor Fritz recently joined the latter, turning heads at Wimbledon as he arrived at his first-round match in an all-white BOSS suit. With pre-match fashion beginning to occupy a bigger place in tennis, Fritz sees an opportunity for players to use those moments to show another side of themselves.

“I think there’s a way to do it and a way not to do it,” Fritz told Serve at an intimate event in BOSS' Columbus Circle store. “I think if the outfit works, it’s cool. I think more people should do it. It can almost be like a more normalized thing to kind of show your style a bit.”

The Athlete Arrival Initiative

The ATP Tour encourages the trend, launching its own version of the fashion-forward pre-game ritual through the 'athlete arrival' initiative, which promotes ATP players in their off court outfits as they arrive at tournaments. Fritz took part in the initial launch at Indian Wells, wearing an all-BOSS fit while arriving in Tennis Paradise.

With the ATP increasingly encouraging a fashion focus on tour, can we now expect to see more ATP players debuting walk-on fits? Fritz believes it will fall on brands' interest in investing in individual looks for players rather than simply outfitting everyone alike.

“I think it takes a brand to want to do that with the players,” Fritz said. “I think some brands maybe just aren’t going to provide that individuality to some of the players. They kind of just want to give the warm-up outfit to everyone, so we’ll see.”

Partnering with BOSS

Fritz is one of the lucky few who has found that freedom with BOSS. His relationship with the German brand has evolved considerably since the two first partnered back in March 2024. What initially started as working through details like sizing and fit for pre-made kits has developed into a more collaborative process, with Fritz increasingly weighing in on what he wears both on and off the court.

Taylor Fritz attended an evening with BOSS at a pre-US Open event with the brand. | Courtesy of BOSS

“At this point, we’ve really started to be able to do a lot more with my off-court looks, like walking-onto-court looks,” Fritz said. “I’ve been able to kind of give my feedback and have a say in a lot of stuff that we’re doing, which is great.”

The American has had more than his fair share of iconic looks with the brand, including when he wore his headband backwards at last year's US Open for the entirety of the match, a slipup BOSS took full advantage of when announcing their partnership with the Australian Open months later.

The incident didn't make Fritz any more conscious of the smaller details of his kits given that he's "put on a tennis outfit a million times in [his] life;" however, he does still have some requirements for his looks.

“As long as I look good, I feel like I’m always gonna feel like I play better,” he said. “I play more confidently. Having the right fit is important, but that's something we've done a lot of measurements for. We've had all that stuff down for a long time, but for me, it's just feeling like I look cool.”

Fritz's Pre-Tournament Events

Fritz has taken that mantra off the court as well as he made several stops at pre-tournament events in the weeks leading up to the Open, including at a BOSS event where he arrived in a tailored black BOSS suit.

For a highly ranked American playing his home major, the week before the tournament tends to get a bit crowded. The 28-year-old said his Monday through Friday is filled with appearances and other commitments he tries to balance while continuing his normal training.

“It's a very busy five days for me, and I do try to frontload it," Fritz said. "We try to make it so, at the end of the week, I can kind of just focus more, get in the headspace for the tournament."

His physical preparation doesn't change dramatically, although he builds harder practices and more rest days into his schedule knowing that prep for a Grand Slam means preparing for the possibility of playing for two weeks. Finding the right balance between events and practice amidst participating in the mixed doubles tournament is essential so that by the time the US Open begins, as Fritz put it, “now it’s tennis.”