World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka made a bold statement with her luxurious Italian Open arrival, carrying a Gucci bag and walking the red clay with newly unveiled Nike footwear, which turned heads at the Foro Italico. Sabalenka had just finished celebrating her 28th birthday and advanced to the third round after a dominant win over Barbora Krejcikova.
The Italian Open is currently at its high-stakes crossover phase, where players battle it out to advance to the final 32. While one half of the draw fights to get a move on, Sabalenka has already made her way with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over world No. 53 Barbora Krejcikova.
The viral Gucci look was spotted during Sabalenka’s bout with Krejcikova, where Sabalenka entered the court with a Gucci bag hanging from her shoulder, specifically designed to help carry sportswear. Sabalenka had joined hands with the Italian luxury house as its brand ambassador back in January 2026 and has since draped herself in the brand’s wardrobe on almost every major stage, from the front rows of Milan Fashion Week to the current Italian Open.
The Belarusian star was also seen wearing the latest Nike Zoom NXT, which is specially designed to provide the comfort needed to combat the exhaustive nature of the red clay. The debut of the new custom shoe also marks the departure of the Nike Zoom Vapor 12 from her shoe closet, which had been her go-to footwear since the 2025 Cincinnati Open.
Aryna Sabalenka Talks About a Possible Boycott Following Rumors of Growing Prize Money Dispute
Aryna Sabalenka has been vocal about boycotting the Grand Slams if the tournaments fail to provide a fair share of their profits to the athletes. Sabalenka has argued that the prize money has reduced significantly from the standard combined ATP and WTA 1000 events. During an interview, she spoke about the athletes being the backbone of the tournament and vowed to bring fairness, however possible.
“When you see the numbers, the amount the players are receiving I feel like the show is on us and without us there wouldn’t be a tournament and it wouldn’t be that entertaining, so definitely we deserve to be paid more. We’re doing whatever we can and if it takes a boycott, I feel like nowadays, we girls, we can get together and go for this,” she said.
Sabalenka’s stance was backed by Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, with the latter claiming the majors should give players greater respect.
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