5 Luxury Watches for Tennis Season

Tennis and luxury watches go together like the Grade I Kent strawberries and fresh cream served at Wimbledon every year. Luxury watch giants such as Richard Mille, Audemars Piguet, and Tag Heuer have long sponsored top tennis players including Nadal, Djokovic and Sharapova. But it's not just the stars who sport high-end timepieces on their wrists at major tennis events. Choosing a bit of wrist-candy for the MensMen's or Ladies' final on Centre Court is a big deal.
These are our top picks to wear when you've got a ringside seat for a Grand Slam match.
Richard Mille Rafael Nadal RM035
When one of the most innovative Swiss luxury watch makers designs a watch in collaboration with the greatest clay court player in the world, you know the results are going to be spectacular. The timepieces in Richard Mille's Rafael Nadal collection can withstand the shocks of a four-or five-hour game, and look distinctive enough to turn heads on centre court.
Take the Richard Mille RM035 Rafael Nadal. The textile bracelet is red. Unashamedly so. The 39.7 mm magnesium-aluminium case is an upgrade on the RM027 case, designed to be even more lightweight and rugged for high performance during tennis matches. The case houses a black bezel inlaid with grade 5 titanium star spline screws. The centre seconds hand is tipped with a red arrow, and the hour and minute hands are luminescent. Then you have the skeletonised movement, a conversation starter in itself. The internal workings of the watch are every bit as eye-catching as the strap and far more fascinating. The movement weighs a mere 4.3 grams, which is pretty important if you're Rafael Nadal because you don't need any extraneous weight if you're trying to win another Grand Slam title. This one is definitely an ace.
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Ceramic
Novak Djokovic is Audemars Piguet's official brand ambassador. Serena Williams wore the Royal Oak Offshore in 18K rose gold with white rubber bezel inlaid with diamonds during the 2014-15 tennis season. And Stan Wawrinka's signature watch is the AP Royal Oak Offshore Diver. If you want to talk luxury watches and tennis, Audemars Piguet needs to be in the room. Or on the court if you will.
The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore Ceramic has presence. Not in the Rolex sense. This is a more rugged, sporty and dynamic kind of chronograph. Very masculine and wide with a case size of 44 mm, it has a black rubber strap and a futuristic look and feel. Maybe it's the octagonal bezel and inner bezel. Perhaps it's the standout 'Mega Tapisserie' pattern. Or it could be the glare proof sapphire. This luxury watch is more than just a chronograph with hours, minutes, small seconds and date. It's like a tennis power serve. It just keeps on slamming you with features: anthracite dial, luminescent hands and indexes, titanium pushpiece guards and links, and a power reserve of 50 hours. Game, set, match.
Tag Heuer Lady F1 Ceramic
Tag Heuer selected female tennis player Maria Sharapova as its ambassador. Synonymous with luxury sports watches, the photogenic Russian is a style icon in her own right. And she wears the Tag Heuer Lady F1 ceramic as her go-to watch.
The Tag Heuer range of luxury watches might be inspired by Formula 1 , but Sharapova's signature watch is a fitting choice when you consider her speed, agility and grace on a tennis court. The Tag Heuer Lady F1 in polished steel and white ceramic with 48-diamond bezel and 12-diamond hour markers manages to walk the line between dress watch and sports watch. A sapphire crystal houses minute and hour hands with luminescent markers, a seconds hand, and a date window at 3 o'clock. The quality quartz movement is incredibly accurate and resistant to shocks. It also has an end-of-life battery indicator. This clever feature tells you when the battery life is starting to fade my making the seconds hand jump by four seconds at a time. But, just like Sharapova herself, the watch will keep going until the battery is fully spent.
Rolex Datejust II
Well, no article about tennis and luxury watches would be complete without mentioning Roger Federer's favourite watch maker! Rolex have been the Official Timekeepers at Wimbledon since 1978. Roger Federer is their key brand ambassador and has been ever since he signed a lucrative £10 million sponsorship deal back in 2006. He always wears a Rolex, apart from when he's actually playing on a tennis court. His favourite timepieces include the platinum Day-Date President, the Vintage Daytona 6262, and the Rolex Datejust.
The latter is the one he actually wears the most. He sported it immediately after he won his 15th grand slam against Andy Roddick at Wimbledon. It's also his favourite luxury watch for evening events. It's easy to see why. The Rolex Datejust is the perfect formal timepiece. And if you're Roger Federer, you're going to need a go-to watch for black tie occasions. The Rolex Datejust II Rolesor bears all the hallmarks of a classic dress watch. The steel and gold bracelet and gold fluted bezel are set off by a black face with luminescent Arabic numerals and hands. A Cyclops lens magnifies the date window at 3 o'clock for instant reference. Water resistant to 100 m, the watch has a classic folding clasp. And the automatic movement boasts a Parachrom hairspring, which protects it from shocks. Like when the victorious Federer is waving his arms in the air, celebrating yet another award win.
HyperChrome Match Point by Rado
Rado presented brand ambassador Andy Murray with the HyperChrome Match Point in 2015. Obviously inspired by the sport of tennis, this 45 mm watch has a seconds counter with 00, 15 and 40 marks (the points in a tennis game), and a 30-minute chrono counter at 9 o'clock. Even the design on the 12-hour-counter sub-dial bears more than a passing resemblance to a tennis net!
The highly polished bezel is engraved with a tachymeter scale. It might not be something you'd actively use on a tennis court but it's a nice touch on a sports watch. These are subtle details, and they come together beautifully. The 37 jewels in the automatic movement elevate the Rado HyperChrome Match Point to luxury watch status. Water resistant to 100 m, it has a 42-hour power reserve. Of all the luxury watches for tennis, this is the one that instantly conjures up the spirit of the sport the moment you lay eyes on it.
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(all other watches) Image Credits – officialwatches.com vedere di piu copia rolex e Breitling Chronospace