Maybe it’s because some of the sport’s best players have hailed from the watchmaking capital of Switzerland, but tennis and watches go together like strawberries and cream. With the Australian Open currently underway in our hometown of Melbourne, we’ve got tennis on our minds here at Time+Tide, so we’ve rounded up a guide to some of the best tennis-inspired watches currently available. From pocket-friendly microbrands to high-end tourbillons, these timepieces celebrate the sport through thoughtful design — tennis-ball dials, court-inspired colour palettes, and even composite cases crafted from actual racquets and match-worn shirts.
HTD Tennis Sport
Tennis has long held ties to watchmaking, though rarely has a watch been designed specifically with the sport in mind. Italian microbrand HTD’s Tennis Sport changes that with a compact 37mm stainless steel case that combines vintage charm with modern practicality. The dial emulates a tennis ball with its texture, while tennis’s famously idiosyncratic scoring system appears via large markers at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock (don’t get confused by the “Fourty” at the 9 o’clock!) plus small “+” and “-” signs between the 1 and 11 o’clock markers.
At just 9mm thick and weighing 64 grams on the steel bracelet, it wears comfortably during match play (not that many tennis players actually wear watches when they play…) The case offers 100 metres of water resistance via a screw-down crown, while the Miyota 9039 automatic movement provides a 42-hour power reserve. HTD offers three dial colours representing different court surfaces: Erba (green for grass), Cemento (blue for hard courts), and Terra Rossa (orange for clay). Price: €679 (approx. US$750)
Maurice de Mauriac x Racquet Rallymaster IV
The fourth collaboration between Swiss watchmaker Maurice de Mauriac and Racquet Magazine has arrived just in time for the Australian Open. Designer Carlton DeWoody takes the Rallymaster in a new direction for this MkIV with a black PVD-coated 39mm case paired with vibrant neon accents inspired by night sessions at Melbourne Park. The dial features a striking small seconds display at 9 o’clock, divided into three sectors with pink and blue tones. These colours reference previous Rallymaster editions while capturing the electrifying atmosphere of night matches under the blue court lights. The dial’s linework glows blue in the dark, matching a lumed stripe on the included stretch-fabric bracelet.
The 47mm lug-to-lug measurement and 12mm thickness provide comfortable all-day wear, while the screw-down crown delivers 100 metres of water resistance. Inside, a Landeron 24 automatic movement offers a 40-hour power reserve, beats at 28,800 vph, and is visible through a smoked sapphire caseback that features central tennis-ball printing surrounded by a racquet motif. Two straps come with the watch: a ventilated black leather rally strap with a pin buckle and a black stretch-fabric bracelet with the glowing stripe. Limited to 100 pieces, each watch includes a branded black tennis ball. Ace. Price: US$2,400 (excl. VAT)
Rado Captain Cook X Tennis Limited Edition
Rado celebrates 40 years supporting tennis with this limited edition Captain Cook, honouring partnerships with tournaments from Gstaad to Melbourne and athletes including Ash Barty and Cameron Norrie. The 39mm stainless steel case features a polished bezel with a brushed ceramic insert, delivering classic dive watch aesthetics in a manageable size. At 45.5mm lug-to-lug and 12mm thick, it wears comfortably on most wrists despite its 300-metre water resistance rating. The deep-dish dial transitions from a white centre to dark ruthenium outer edge, with tennis ball-coloured lume plots at 15, 30, 40 minutes, plus “game” at 12 o’clock on the rehaut. The yellow lume-tipped seconds hand and rotating anchor at 12 o’clock complete the details.
While its stainless steel beads-of-rice bracelet offers plenty of vintage appeal, this Captain Cook’s real party trick is that it comes with three additional NATO straps, each representing a Grand Slam court surface: green for Wimbledon’s grass, red for Roland Garros’ clay, and blue for Melbourne and New York’s hard courts. The embossed caseback also features the three court surfaces. Price: US$2,800
Norqain Wild One Skeleton Stan The Man Limited Edition
Norqain honours three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka with this limited edition that features actual tennis ball fibres infused into the case-side nameplate. The 42mm case showcases Norqain’s proprietary Norteq carbon fibre cage construction, paired with a yellow-green rubber shock absorber inspired by tennis ball colours, while the black and yellow-green rubber strap carries a tennis net-inspired pattern. Few watches are better suited to tennis duties than Norqain’s Wild One, which is shock-resistant up to 5,000 g – meaning that you actually could play with this mechanical watch without cooking its internals. Indeed, ATP pros Matt Ebden and Wawrinka himself have both played with the watch on!
Through the exhibition caseback, a COSC-certified Sellita-based movement provides 41 hours of power reserve, though most of the view is obscured by a printed image of Wawrinka alongside the dates of his three Grand Slam victories: the 2014 Australian Open, 2015 French Open, and 2016 US Open. The packaging includes a bespoke chrome ball-shaped box and a tennis ball signed by Wawrinka, and is limited to 85 pieces, honouring his birth year of 1985. Onya Stan. Price: US$6,990 (pin buckle) / US$7,390 (folding clasp)
Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport Tennis
We’re used to seeing interesting materials or skeletonisation applied to the dial of the Gerald Charles Maestro, but what about a homage to the humble tennis ball? Crafted from grade 5 titanium with a sandblasted texture and charcoal PVD coating for enhanced scratch resistance, this take on the Maestro weighs just 64 grams, including the yellow Velcro strap and titanium “darkblast” buckle. The strap’s quite interesting, actually: made from yellow vulcanised rubber, it features a flexible iron core for improved strength while maintaining a leather-like feel. The dial, meanwhile, replicates a tennis ball through a grainy textured yellow (almost chartreuse) surface with fumé edges implying a spherical shape.
Inside, the Vaucher GCA 3002 movement employs an Incabloc system, achieving shock resistance to 5G forces — validated through testing by ATP players Andrea Vavassori and Hubert Hurkacz — while providing 50 hours of power reserve, and exhibiting beautiful colimaçonnage, côtes de Genève, and perlage finishes through a sapphire caseback. You might have noticed this watch being worn by Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur during the 2026 Australian Open (shame he got knocked out in the quarter-finals). Price: US$20,700
Hublot Big Bang Tourbillon Novak Djokovic GOAT Editions
Hublot’s latest Novak Djokovic signature watches represent the apex of tennis-watch integration. Why? Its case is constructed from a composite material made from recycled polo shirts and Head tennis racquets actually used by Djokovic in competition, giving each example a uniquely intimate connection to one of the greatest to have ever played the game. Three colour options honour Djokovic’s Grand Slam victories by court surface: matte blue for hard courts (72 pieces), orange for clay (21 pieces), and green for grass (8 pieces) — the most exclusive. Each number corresponds to Djokovic’s total wins on that surface, with additional pieces to be produced following future victories – meaning that if the Joker wins this Australian Open, we’ll see an additional 73rd blue model produced.
But the tennis connection doesn’t stop there. Its heavily remixed MHUB6035 micro-rotor tourbillon movement features a three-dimensional lattice mainplate taking the layout and aesthetic of tennis racquet strings. Each “string” measures just 0.55mm thick, machined via a high-tech laser-engraving process, then finished with black PVD coating. Irregular gaps simulate how strings shift during match play, while the attachment points replicate actual racquet construction. Even the screws emulate tennis balls via an S-shaped design, requiring a bespoke screwdriver head. Additionally, the white calfskin leather strap mimics tennis grip tape texture. It’s gloriously exxy, but we’d expect nothing else from Hublot. Price: US$115,000