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Bianca Andreescu had to change her outfit in the middle of a U.S. Open match, and we're not surprised.
During her first round match, Bianca Andreescu - a sponsored Nike Athlete - asked to change her outfit in the middle of a set because the "dress is so bad." According to her, the dress was flying up during forehands and serves making it difficult to play.
“Can this not count as one of my changeovers because, I mean, it's not my fault, it's Nike's fault. This dress is so bad,” Andreescu pleaded with the umpire.
While the wind didn't help, it looks like the wardrobe malfunctions were due to the design of the dress, rather than the inclement weather. This dress was one layer on top of shorts, which is the standard design for tennis dresses. This design makes it hard to move quickly on the court, with flouncing fabric that gets in the way; this seems to be the reason why Andreescu called out the athletic-wear giant and blamed them for the design.
The umpire ended up granting the time for Bianca to changer her outfit, and during this faux changeover, she changed into a classic tank top and skirt combo. After changing her outfit, Andreescu was able to win her match 6-0, 3-6, 6-1, securing a spot in the second round.
While it's true that this could have all been a tactic to give Andreescu more time between sets after losing her lead, this seems to speak to larger problems within tennis-wear. Tennis clothes seem to either be matronly or improperly tested for real-court conditions, and this Nike dress is a great example of that.
Looking to the future, we are excited about brands that are looking to change the future of tennis-wear. For example, LoveHate Athletica launched a tennis dress that has a snap-closure system to make it both a 2-in-1 product and basically wind-proof. It's products (and smaller brands) like this that are shaking up this space and making better products for real athletes.
What do you think? Was Bianca being overdramatic, or was she right?