BNP Paribas Open Final, Bok Teng Uniforms? ‘Nike Heaven’ Calls for Confusion

BNP Paribas Open final, Bok-Teng uniforms? Confusion caused by ‘Nike heaven and earth’

it’s rare to see actresses wearing the same dress on the red carpet of a film festival, but a similar situationhas happened on the tennis court. In March, the “uniform doppelganger” incident of two male players at the final of the BNP Paribas Openin Indian Wells, USA, made headlines. The players in question were Holger Lune and Zack Draper. both were sponsored by Nike, and both wore the same design.

with similar physical attributes and hats on their heads, it was hard to tell who was who, not only for the spectators but also for the broadcasters. the only difference was the color of their sneakers. lune in white, Draper in red. it’s hard to immerse yourself in the game when you’re trying to identify the players.

the two faces of Nike in the final

interestingly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen this “wardrobe overlap” – the two players also competed in the 2025 Australian Openwearing the exact same Nike tennis outfits. fans reacted with “I thought they were married” at the time. nike sponsors a number of top-ranked tennisplayers, includingLune, Draper, and Alcaceres, and it’s not uncommon for the brand to offer the same seasonal designs to multiple players.

at this year’s BNP Paribas Open, Alcacer wore the same shirt design in both the final and the quarterfinals, with the only way to tell them apart being the color. in the final, the color was the same, which was said to be the most confusing.

uniform overlap repeated in the women’s game

something similar happened at the Australian Open women’s final. both Ariana Sabalenka and Madison Keys showed up in identical Nike dresses, but they were color-coded yellow and green, respectively, so they weren’t too hard to identify, but it still left something to be desired in terms of style.

“More memorable for the outfit than the performance”

zach Draper won the final, but many fans were left with a “who’s who” conundrum. On social media and in the community, criticism poured in, saying things like, “That uniform is completely useless,” and “It was confusing to watch.” the brand may have gotten a lot of exposure, but it was more about fatigue than awareness.

athletes with personalities, designing their own

with all of this uniform overlap, some athletes have gone so far as to design their own outfits. serena Williams has created her own tennis look by switching between ballet and formal styles, while Naomi Osaka broke the tennis uniform stereotype when she wore a jacket with a bow and a kangkang skirt on her return from childbirth, all in collaboration with Nike Women and Korean designer Yoon Ahn.

dress code, is this okay?

the problem is that tennis doesn’t have an official rule that allows players to adjust the color of their uniforms. Unlike sports like table tennis, badminton, and squash, where players are required to wear different colors than their opponents, tennis only has a “dress code. in the wake of this incident, there is a growing need for clarification or revision of player dress codes,most notably Wimbledon’s “all white” rule.

long on sponsorship, short on personality

nike currently sponsors a number of top men’s and women’s athletes, including Yannick Sinner, Alcaraz, Lune, Draper, Sabalenka, and Osaka. on the other hand, it sponsors up-and-coming brands like ON in an elite-few strategy, which has been successful in expanding the brand, but the controversy has shown the limits of a distinctive style strategy.

performance is important, but so is ‘fun to watch’

tennis is more than just a sport, it’s also a fashion and personality statement. if you can’t even tell the players apart during a match, it’s hard to keep the audience engaged. it’s time to dress for the audience and fans, not the brand.