Besides eye-catching forehands and backhands, the 2025 French Open, which was won by Coco Gauff and Carlos Alcaraz, featured plenty of other elements that warrant attention. At times, tennis wasn’t even what was making headlines.
Players have long been associated with big brand names when it comes to clothing and equipment. Watchmakers, meanwhile, have also taken an interest in tennis from time immemorial. And here, we take a look at five noteworthy watches that players sported at the 2025 French Open:
Coco Gauff Rolex Oyster Perpetual 36
Women’s singles champion Coco Gauff wore her $7,500 Rolex Oyster Perpetual with a 36 mm dial and the watchmaker’s traditional oyster bracelet throughout her 2025 French Open run.
First introduced in the late 1930s, the oystersteel bracelet is known for its robust and comfortable feel. It features flat three-piece links and the namesake oysterclasp. The dial, meanwhile, has a legible chromalight display with long-lasting luminescence.
Gauff chose the lavender colour palette for the dial. The colours created for the Oyster Perpetual range come from lacquer, which is applied onto the dial in a controlled-atmosphere environment to avoid dust and other contamination.
Aryna Sabalenka Audemars Piguet Royal Oak
Aryna Sabalenka may have come up short in the summit clash of the 2025 French Open, but she could well take home the win for the most classy watch at the tournament, courtesy of her $70,000 Audemars Piguet piece.
A part of the iconic Royal Oak collection, designed by Swiss watchmaker Gérald Genta way back in 1972, the gold and turquoise premium watch comes with a 37 mm yellow gold dial and an 18-carat yellow gold case, glareproofed sapphire crystal and caseback. The hour markers and hands come with luminous coating to match the glitter, while the bracelet is also 18-carrot yellow gold.
The contrasting shades not only made sure that the watch stood out, but the turquoise also complemented Sabalenka’s customised Nike kit incredibly well, making the timepiece the perfect pick for her.
Tommy Paul De Bethune DB28XS Steel Wheels
Moving away from tradition for a change, Tommy Paul rocked the more modern and compact De Bethune DB28XS Steel Wheels watch worth around $100,000.
The watch 30mm dial is sporty-looking and comes with polished blued titanium hands and hour markers along with satin-finish titanium hours and minutes rings. The dial base is also made of polished titanium.
The strap, again a departure from some of the others on the list, is leather-based. Paul picked the standout blue colour for the strap, which comes with a Grade 5 titanium buckle and pin.
Carlos Alcaraz Rolex Daytona Turquoise Blue
It was a big fortnight for Rolex as, after Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz also lifted the French Open trophy wearing another one of the watchmaking giant’s flagship pieces.
The Rolex Daytona shares its name with the famous racetrack in Florida and has been one of the big draws for watch connoisseurs. The calibre 4131 and 4132 used in the watch are known to have minimal parts, taking efficiency to new heights.
Rolex founder took special interest in curating the Cosmograph Daytona, which has become one of the most durable and well-recognized feature for the watchmaker. The black and white dial with three counters and a gold bezel studded with 36 sapphires has been worn by many iconic sports persons and would cost $37,000.
Donna Vekic FP Journe Elegante
Donna Vekic also made a style statement with her $50,000 FP Journe Elegante, which boasts a very long autonomy of 8 to 18 years courtesy of its electro-mechanical movement with motion detector.
The luminescent dial and midnight blue rubber strap were just right for the French Open kit. Studded diamonds add some sparkle to the dial, which also features blued steel hands and measures up to 48 mm.
Utilising state-of-the-art horological concepts that the watchmaker prides itself with, the watch switches to standby after 35 minutes of being motionless, but the time resets automatically as soon as the watch is worn again.
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Edited by pranavsethii
