World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is sailing along through her draw in the “Happy Slam” also known as the 2026 Australian Open.
Sabalenka has not dropped a set through three rounds though she was pushed to the limit with two tiebreakers against Anastasia Potapova.
The tiger of tiebreaks and two-time Australian Open champion recently made off-court news by becoming the latest Gucci ambassador, joining Jannik Sinner.
Welcome to the Gucci family, Aryna.
@SabalenkaA #ArynaSabalenka pic.twitter.com/3lVHOJl1e5— gucci (@gucci) January 22, 2026
Sabalenka has a gregarious personality and enjoys fashion and expressing her individuality so the logical question was whether there would be a Gucci on-court collaboration.
Recall that Sabalenka is a Nike athlete who last year told the general public that she was not getting custom kits for the 2026 season. She told the press to bombard Nike social media to get something changed. It is also worth noting that Naomi Osaka is a Nike athlete who seemingly calls the shots on her kits and unveiled a custom jellyfish inspired design at this year’s Australian Open.
This means any Gucci collaboration would have to involve Nike, and it didn’t sound like Sabalenka was particularly thrilled about talking with Nike about it.
Of course, she could have been joking, but the quote still is out there for the world to ponder.
What Aryna Sabalenka Said
Sabalenka hinted that a Gucci on court collaboration seemed unlikely, but she would love for it to happen.
Aryna Sabalenka wants to bring the bring the ultimate Gucci style onto the court 😎
[🎥Credit: Gucci] pic.twitter.com/39SZslGxNp— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 23, 2026
She said: “I’m not closing the door, but we need to…unfortunately talk to Nike as well.”
I am constantly confused why Nike is not doing more to showcase Sabalenka as its premier WTA athlete. She is the World No. 1, a three-time Grand Slam champion (compared to Osaka’s four Grand Slams), and both her tennis and personality are an asset to the sport.
Time will tell, and many could think this is much ado about nothing since most of the Nike tennis news has been incorrect in recent months. It was widely speculated that Emma Raducanu was leaving Nike in 2026 for Uniqlo which did not happen. Last year, we thought Carlos Alcaraz’s long-awaited custom Nike logo was being released at the ATP Finals which never happened. Alcaraz later called that rumor “fake news.”
