Rafa used to look like a rockstar. Now he's more like Guy Forget!!!

He's ruined, ghastly, and wretched, sadly. Dear me, but I'd hesitate to say this is about the worst transformation possible.

KT did you know the 3 piece snakes had gone to Rafa's home, blueprints in hand? If memory serves, he met with them to discuss the whole disaster. That tidbit sent me reeling.

I agree with you that the new clothes are awful. Even if he wants to make a change why this? I have to wonder who advises Rafa or the team on these things. In the end I hope he likes the clothes, that's what most important but it sure has taken something away from the enjoyment of watching him. Where did Rafa make that statement? I'd love to read it.

nadal is a great representative for tennis and sports in general. i think he is gorgeous in anything, but this may sound contradictory, his new look is so not him! his capri pants and sleeveless shirt were made just for him. i wish the old nadal would come back to us!

I feel like I'm watching Sampson get a haircut! Nike what were you thinking! O.K. change his shorts or make his look EXCLUSIVELY HIS. You did not do yourself any good allowing other players to wear the sleaveless shirts. They only looked GREAT on Nadal. Rafa looks like he is struggling to get out of his shirt while trying to play tennis. I didn't find anything juvenile about his look, just a stupid comment by a group of people who's one imagine in the mirror felt slighted by Rafa's. PLEASE, PLEASE NIKE, RAFA.....GO BACK TO THE BEGINNING AND START OVER! We miss the old look. P.S. This time make it just for Nadal, so that he and Federer both have their signature looks without sad copy cats! :)

Thank you all for the input.

I did hear that the Nike reps visited Rafa in Mallorca to discuss the design. Originally they had expected him to debut the look before the USO, but he decided to wait. Either way, I had to shake my head. I haven't been this confused about a marketing strategy in my entire life.

Nadal's classic look was a brand- an iconic brand. Why on earth Nike would suggest a radical change (and an unpleasant one- you can see the comments here...nobody likes it, it wasn't just me) is beyond me.

I have to shrug my shoulders when the man himself says he was on board with it though. It's his choice, but I cannot say I have a clue why he went along for the ride. Rule of thumb is- do not fix what isn't broken.

The comment Rafa made is in the WSJ article I linked in the blog.

He said it aloud, oh my. :x

Not only it looks awful on him but the Capri pants kept hidden the taped knees. Now they just pop in your face in a very unpleasent way.
I'm out of words, seriously. And that's telling something lol.

for me,the outfit is also awful but i remember reading somewhere that this new outfit is only for smaller tournaments.So,hopefully there is reason to be optimistic for grand slams!!!

sisterofnight12, thanks for giving me a glimmer of hope!

Thank goodness for the voice of reason. Nike needs to change this NOW. He has lost so much and it doesn't make him any more mature looking. He looks less fierce and intimidating. Someone must have been whispering to change in his ear and he thought he should change. Unholster those guns!!!

This too, shall pass.

He's still Rafa Nadal, no matter what he wears.

i blew off doha & i'm glad. ewwwwwwwwwww the change sucks!!!

It's just TOO early to change Rafa's image. It doesn't look comfortable on him. NIKE... forgot that IMAGE is one of Rafa's "plus" factor with the fans.
The brain who gave him that look MUST be SACKED!

Regardless of whether it looks good or not, the important thing is how Rafa feels wearing it. I only saw him play in it at the Abu Dhabi exhb match, and it did appear that he wasn't 100% comfortable. from a practical point of view, the free swinging of arms in a sleeveless top would be restricted as his polo top sleeves are quite tight.

janeinnc you are so right. The intimidation and larger than life qualities are compeltely gone. Plus he now looks like Tommy Robredo - a refugee from the 80s. Noooo!

Poor Tommy Robredo! If anyone from Nike is reading this HINT HINT please give us back what we all agree fits! Viva guns and Pirate Pants! :)

Pardon the segue KT, but you haven't returned my Friday night ring and I won't be thwarted. Rare I do this to you, but I demand an explanation. SC said you are going to the Movistar Open? If my news wire is accurate, I want confirmation of when you will touch down in Chile and with whom!

lol i bet she won't answer you but yea~~i know she is. if you know her like you say you do,,you'd should know who she's going with. :D

nobody can be more boring than tommygirl boredo~i should know. rafa was having a bad serving day with new & too long sleeves. he needs to get rid of this outfit really soon if ya ask me.

Nadal should rip off that polo in the middle of a match in Melbourne and play the rest of it shirtless.

Just to see what happens

Right well a headline stealer should he do it JohnnyM.

She is going to both events Michelle, you are snail's pace here. A friendly hint for you:: examine your words prior to tapping the keys and bottle your need to one up me for being in the loop.

Nadal is going through some major changes in his game under Uncle Toni. They were executing in in Doha already. That could be why he was unconmfortable on court. Nadal has the last say in what he wears, I doubt he'd agree to something he wasn't comfortable with. Then again, who really knows...

rafa had problems serving with that shirt & his serve is bad to begin with.~~~ erm IVY~lol i knew before you did. she's meeting me there on the 2nd or 3rd day~she talks to me about her vaycays before you honey.

I agree his serve is not great to begin with, definitely needs improving. I didn't watch Doha so didn't see his comfort level but I have read others saying he looked uncomfortable. I do know he's making changes to his game too. Maybe the combo of all that hasn't quite settled him... I'll have a chance to watch him closely at AO when I get to Melbourne.

Have to agree, the new look is downright boring on Rafa. The shirt he wore on the Arthur Ashe Kids' Day was much better. It had sleeves, but was bright orange and seemed to fit him better. Rafa's complexion and build almost scream for bold colors, sleeveless shirts and the pirate pants. The new look is a blunder--like New Coke.

PLease bring back the US Open orange, please! Rafa may have agreed to these new designs/colors, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Please, please, re-work it and get a color consultant in on the job. Still love Rafa!

next we'll be arguing about what colour underwear he should be wearing.
it only matters whether nadal likes it or not - doesn't matter whether his fans like it, they're not wearing it. supporting nadal means supporting his choices. players rely on fan support too.

Okay remi, I'll start. I vote for no underwear.

i watched all three matches of rafa in doha but to me,he didn't seem uncomfortable.after all,he won his first two matches in a stunning fashion.and i assume he wouldn't wear those ugly clothes if he did feel uncomfortable.
still,i'm hopeful for australia that he's gonna get back to old rafa we know.

remi "supporting nadal means supporting his choices. players rely on fan support too."
No one has to blindly support EVERYTHING that their favorite player does. Just because we don't like every decision they make does not mean we do not support them. We have our opinions, are free to express them. I support Rafa, just not his latest outfit. i REPEAT, you do not have to agree with everything he does -- that doesn't mean you aren't a Rafa Fan.

I do agree with you tennisfan2. It's just discussion about his new clothes have been going on and looks likely to continue! Of course his fans don't have to like it and Rafa seems to know that many don't. Lately, he's been saying that his clothes are not important, the person wearing them are - in quite a few ways. I just think he may be trying to tell us something. No offense.

Rafa isn't going to change his clothes just because some fans don't like it. Lots of people used to complain about his pirate pants than they got used to it. Now they complain about the loss of it or sleeves on his shirt. Can't please everyone, people will always complain. It's a human habit.

when i saw what rafa had changed to i was speechless. The old outfit was his trade mark look. He just does not look like the same person with a fighting spirit and warrior style. That outfit was so him .I am having a hard time watching him play with the same type of enthusiam as i use to and beleive me i am a huge rafa fan. It is very sad but i hope that it will change for the better.It has to because it can not get worse. Why oh why change something that worked so well!!!! I guess if someone payed me a million dollars to wear something ulgy on tv ,i guess i would do it to. I know that i am suppose to focus on his tennis play more than what he wears but it is what it is. that outfit was just..............I WANT MY SEXY BACK11111

Yes i agree that nadal's new look is so not him! I dont understand why would Nike want to change his image to this when the colourful sleeveless shirts were Nadal's trademark! And only he looks good in it with his bod. Why does Nike want to change something that is already well associated with him and they should continue that image to market Nadal! I really hope Nike does something about this and bring the sleeveless shirts back! I dont think Nadal has a say since he is an endorser for Nike. If Nike wants him to wear this, i think he will have to. COME BACK NADAL!

I don't like the polo in the photo.

But I DO like the crewnecks and colors he's chosen for the AO.

Now, I'll never complain if he brings back the sleveless.

But the colors suit him, and remind him of Mallorca - and as he says himself, the most important thing is that he can play well in them. He has different proportions than Roger, so he has to shift the proportions of the clothes to adapt.

I'll leave the "Federer lookalike" debate to other minds. Whatever else you can say about Roger, he's a marketing machine and I don't blame Rafa and his business heads for taking a look at what has already worked and adaptng it.

And Rafa is of course a rockstar! Didn't anyone else notice, for both day and night, the sparkles on his shorts?!? :D

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HISTORIC AUSTRALIAN OPEN CHAMPION!!

The look is not complete without crewcut hair.

"I am excited about evolving my on-court apparel with Nike to a polo and shorter-length short."

Poor Rafa must have been made to read from a script written by a corporate suit who deserves to be fired. Nobody actally speaks like that - least of all Rafa.

They already have Federer as the ultimate marketing machine for the classic, preppy look. Why on earth they should want to create a look-alike and throw away the chance of harnessing the high profile of Nadal to reach a younger, funkier audience defeats the imagination.

The problem is that if Nike were to climb down now and let Rafa go back to his signature style they will lose face and make themselves look stupid for having changed it in the first place.

actually rafa said this was the first time he had any choice in his outfit and that he likes the new look. so.. i dont think nike made him do it.

In the early rounds of RG 2005 I remember being impressed how a very young and remarkably self-possessed Rafa kept on winning amid the media's constant jokes about his pirate outfit. I mourned the change to a new look (just as I mourned the passing of his jumping exuberance into mostly, that look of fearsome concentration).

BUT I have to admit, seeing him at AO 2009 in the new outfit once and for all SOLIDIFIED in my mind that he was --really & undoubtedly-- No. 1. And now that he's won a slam title with this new look, I think Rafa's new image sends the clear message that he's at a whole new level, and getting even better.

The capri pants, the sleeveless shirt are Nadal. That unique look made him so appealing on top of his awesome tennis, he cut a dash with it and looked like a rock star, which other players fail so miserably to do in the same sttire.

Please bring back the look we all love, or at least let his knee straps match his wristband.

I dont believe for a moment Rafa wanted to abandon his famous look but no matter he became No.1 in the World in his pirate attire it was not selling the merchandise. So being the nice, obliging guy that he is he capitulated as a thank you for all the financial support he had received from them in the early part of his career.

I just wish we knew what he was really thinking when he signed of that constipated statement penned by the Nike marketing men. "I am excited about evolving my on-court apparel with Nike to a polo and shorter-length short.". Give us a break.

As long as they don't put him in a cardigan!!!!!!!

Rafa cares about playing tennis. He is not all that concerned with the fashion, and he trusts Nike's designers. Rafa is not a designer, and whoever came up with the original Rafa look was inspired, creating an icon we can all remember. Unfortunately, this look became something fit only for a demi-God of Rafa's stature. The rest of us mortals felt funny wearing Hercule's tunic and even Carlos Moya got flack for wearing the sleeveless ensamble (and he's got arms too!). So not surprisingly, and yet ironically, the success of Rafa's look might have been its own downfall. It made anyone else trying to dress like him look like a wannabe fool.
Yet marketing decisions aside, I also want the old look back!

rafa wouldn't mind if the organizers asked him to wear a pink tutu cause all he know is letting his racket do the talking.

torres9, 3/17/09 9:03 PM For once I am totallly in agreement with you. He has proved that by rising above the 'make-over' and going on to win the AO.

Perfect answer, ed!

As an ardent Rafa fan.......it really does not matter to me what he wears as much as how often he wins!! I think he looks quite nice in his new gear!! I cant believe people are saying that the shirt looks too tight and all the rest of it and how Nadal looks uncomfortable!! Do you think for someone who is the best at what he does, winning 6 GS to boot, that he would deliberately wear something that makes him feel uncomfortable?!!!!......I mean give the guy half a brain!!!! He won the Aussi Open with that very same outfit by the way!!!!......how uncomfortable was that?!!!

But I must admit that I really liked his previous look.......it was sexy, exciting and it really suited him and his personality! It just made you pay attention, and his was the only one like it!!! It was signature RAFA!!! But like everything in life........every good thing must come to an end. And perhaps there is one thing that we may have overlooked.....as much as we may have liked the outfit maybe Rafa grew tired of it and didnt like it anymore.......who knows!!!

Loved the old look. The new look is "ok" but doesn't have the flair we associate with Rafa-dom. (I must admit the first time I saw it, I thought, "Gee, that guy must be hiding knee braces.") :D