{"id":847533,"date":"2026-08-08T03:46:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:46:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/847533\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T03:46:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T03:46:10","slug":"you-cannot-impress-everyone-with-your-outfits-aryna-sabalenka-turns-criticism-into-confidence-as-she-explains-why-her-basketball-inspired-us-open-outfit-stays-international-sports-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/847533\/","title":{"rendered":"“You cannot impress everyone with your outfits”: Aryna Sabalenka turns criticism into confidence as she explains why her basketball-inspired US Open outfit stays | International Sports News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\""YouAryna Sabalenka (Getty Images) Aryna Sabalenka is not in the business of dressing for approval. Ahead of the US Open, the world No. 1 posted her new Nike kit on social media and the internet, predictably, had opinions. The outfit \u2014 a black and red lace-overlay dress drawing heavily from basketball aesthetics \u2014 split the crowd almost immediately. Some thought it too bold for a tennis court. Sabalenka’s response? She loves it, she pushed for it, and no, she is not changing her mind.<\/p>\n

Why is Aryna Sabalenka wearing a basketball-inspired outfit at the 2026 US Open?<\/p>\n

The outfit is part of Nike’s 2026 Grand Slam collection, and each major has a different sport acting as its design muse. The Australian Open kit was rooted in surfing culture, Roland-Garros took inspiration from dance, and Wimbledon nodded to cricket. For the US Open, the lens shifts to basketball — and the result is the lace-overlay dress that has been generating all this noise.Aryna Sabalenka was asked about it in Toronto and did not hold back. “I really like this year’s Nike outfit because it’s inspired by different sports,” she told reporters. “The Australian Open one was linked to surfing, the Roland-Garros one to dance, and Wimbledon to cricket. And finally, for the US Open, basketball is in the spotlight.”She did not stop at defending it. Sabalenka made clear she actively pushed Nike to move away from safe, conventional designs. “For a long time, they stuck to pretty classic things,” she said. “I encouraged them to create something more fun, different, maybe with a new shape or idea for the dress.” The basketball-net lace overlay is precisely that — new, deliberate, and a direct product of her creative input.There is something worth noting here. Sabalenka is not just wearing whatever her sponsor sends over. She has been shaping the direction of her on-court wardrobe. That context changes the story slightly — this is not a player tolerating an unusual outfit. She helped design the philosophy behind it.<\/p>\n

What did Aryna Sabalenka say about the criticism of her US Open dress?<\/p>\n

Short answer: she shrugged it off. “I love my outfit. If some people don’t like it, that’s okay,” Aryna Sabalenka said. “You can’t please everyone with your clothes. That’s exactly what I love about fashion: there’s room for everyone, for all desires and inspirations.”That quote tells you a lot about where Sabalenka’s head is at. She is the reigning US Open champion heading into Flushing Meadows, ranked No. 1 in the world. The criticism of her outfit — from people who have never faced a first serve at her pace — barely registers. She called the basketball theme “really fun” and even said, “So I feel like a basketball.” That is someone who has found a way to enjoy the noise rather than be consumed by it.Beyond the outfit, Sabalenka has been building a broader off-court identity. Her YouTube series, “Aryna’s Arena,” recently dropped an episode documenting her holiday in Mykonos with partner Georgios Frangulis. She addressed her audience directly: “I’m having so much fun filming these and wanted to give you guys a look into my life on and off the court \u2026 the good, the bad, all of it.”The holiday footage is deliberately low-key. Swimming, beach days, time away from tennis. “I feel like I am at peace when I am in the water and swimming,” Sabalenka said. “Right now you realise life is so much bigger than a tennis tournament. Having fun with your closest people is truly the best.”For a player who has spoken openly about managing pressure and mental health in the past, this version of Aryna Sabalenka — grounded, unbothered, visibly enjoying her life — looks like someone who has figured something out. The outfit debate will likely follow her into New York. She will almost certainly win some matches in it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aryna Sabalenka (Getty Images) Aryna Sabalenka is not in the business of dressing for approval. Ahead of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":847534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[4909,418196,64,63,418197,418200,418195,85,747,418199,355900,418198],"class_list":["post-847533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-aryna-sabalenka","tag-arynas-arena-youtube-series","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-grand-slam-collections","tag-news-aryna-sabalenka","tag-nike-basketball-inspired-outfit","tag-sports","tag-tennis","tag-tennis-fashion-controversy","tag-us-open-2026","tag-womens-tennis-outfits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=847533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/847533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/847534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=847533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=847533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=847533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}