Men’s tennis is a gentleman’s sport of style, timing, and finesse, leaving much for viewers of this week’s U.S. Open to dine on. This, after all, is what writer David Foster Wallace once called “a prime venue for the expression of human beauty,” and its top competitors have never disappointed. From their nuanced approach to a baseline game and topspin, to the way they tuck their hair into a sweatband, every detail of a tennis player’s on-court performance shows incredible personal range.
In the 1930s, Fred Perry’s tennis whites and slick comb over were as spotless as his championship-sweeping record, inspiring not only a genre-defining clothing line, but also a grooming legacy that can still be found on the clay and grass in the form of Canada’s Milos Raonic. He, it’s worth noting, is off to a straight-set winning start in the New York tournament.
By the 1970s, John McEnroe was anointed the sport’s golden boy for his seemingly faultless touch on the volley, a reputation only further enhanced by his halo of fluffy, combed out curls. But there was no question when Andre Agassi stepped onto the court a decade later—in acid-washed denim shorts, no less—that his bleached tipped, feathered mullet and unmatched speed were ushering in a law-defying bad boy tennis of the future. And it’s not just the coifs that count. These days, Benoît Paire finds plenty of freedom and visor-free shade beneath a healthy head of lettuce and buxom beard. Meanwhile, Roger Federer, the quintessential gentleman, prefers a face so clean it has earned him a razor endorsement. From Björn Borg’s flaxen lengths to Yannick Noah’s free-flying locks, here is a look at the best hair in men’s tennis—truly a vision of beauty.
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