Carlos Alcaraz began the defense of his U.S. Open title with Travis Scott in the stands and the rapper’s collaborative Nike line taking over his entire uniform.
In his opening match against Roman Safiullin, the number-two seed in the men’s tournament wore a full Cactus x Nike set in brown and white, going beyond his apparel and shoes to include accessories down to his headband and socks. In addition to the color scheme that’s long been a Scott signature, each application of the Swoosh came backward just as in the rapper’s sneakers. The Cactus Jack logo was also applied to the shorts, lest any of the other signifiers be missed.
On Alcaraz’s feet was a Travis Scott x Nike Vapor 12 rendered predominantly in white, with brown accents including a backward Swoosh on the shoe’s lateral side. It’s not yet known if the shoe will release to the public, but if it did it would still be different from what the Spaniard wears on-court, as Nike modifies his pairs with the sole unit from the original Vapor tennis shoe.
Nike has been making apparent efforts this year to bring more heat to its tennis shoes — as in shoes made expressly for tennis; not a synonym for sneakers. Another iteration of the Vapor 12 released earlier this summer while dressed like the Mag, the famous shoe from “Back to the Future II,” and a once-obscure mashup of the Vapor line with Foamposite tech known best in basketball just hit stores in August with multiple colorways.
Having been sponsored by Nike since 2019, Alcaraz has previously dabbled in the hyped side of Nike’s business by debuting Supreme’s Courtposite collaboration in 2023.
A close-up view of Carlos Alcaraz‘s Travis Scott x Nike Vapor 12 from his U.S. Open match against Roman Safiullin.
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Carlos Alcaraz’s full Travis Scott x Nike kit from the U.S. Open first round.
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