--- title: Rafael Nadal Has Returned to the Glory of His Signature Look description: At the 2018 U.S. Open, tennis player Rafael Nadal stayed cool in a sleeveless shirt — and reminded fans of his earlier days on the court. canonical: https://time.com/5380365/rafael-nadal-sleeveless/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-08-28T18:01:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:54:33.693Z og:title: Rafael Nadal Has Returned to the Glory of His Signature Look og:description: Nadal went for the tank top and people are pleased og:url: https://time.com/5380365/rafael-nadal-sleeveless/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rafael Nadal Has Returned to the Glory of His Signature Look twitter:description: Nadal went for the tank top and people are pleased twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Rafael Nadal Has Returned to the Glory of His Signature Look at the U. S. Open  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 28, 2018 6:01 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Aug 28, 2018 6:01 PM UTC Temperatures in New York City are soaring this week — and the clothes at the U.S. Open 2018 are reflecting that. At least, Spanish tennis player [Rafael Nadal](http://time.com/4935338/rafael-nadal-wins-us-open-tennis/) is dispensing with shirt sleeves during play for the [2018 U.S. Open](http://time.com/5380155/alexis-ohanian-serena-williams-us-open/), kicking off his first match against fellow countryman David Ferrer on Monday with a sleeveless shirt that had fans reminiscing about Nadal’s early days on the court and signature tank top style. Nadal [won the match](https://www.si.com/tennis/2018/08/27/david-ferrer-retires-2018-us-open-first-round-retirement) by default, as Ferrer retired during the second set due to injury. But conversation has centered less around the famed Nadal’s moves on the court and more on his iconic fashion choice at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center this week. Nadal, who [has won a Grand Slam](http://time.com/5324241/roger-federer-rafael-nadal-wimbledon/) in his teens, twenties and thirties, was once the poster child for the sports tank top. But in recent years he has often switched over to the more traditional t-shirt. However, at the recent Australian Open he returned to his bicep-baring roots — and it looks like this U.S. Open will see him continuing his rediscovery of former fashion glory. Tennis is a famously prohibitive sport when it comes to on-court style, often criticizing players’ attire; [at Wimbledon](http://time.com/5323876/wimbledon-2018-dress-code/), for instance, the “tennis whites” rules are strictly enforced. The U.S. Open offers a more [relaxed dress code](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/24/style/us-open-fashion-style.html), however, leaving Nadal free to flex his star power however he chooses. Nadal, who [won last year’s](http://time.com/4935338/rafael-nadal-wins-us-open-tennis/) U.S. Open, will [next play](https://www.google.com/search?q=US+Open&stick=H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLVT9c3NMxIrjLJMow3mcDCCACJDlKKFAAAAA&biw=1440&bih=698) Canada’s Vasek Pospisil on Wednesday — and many fans, new and old, will likely be tuning in to see both the athletic skill on display _and_ what type of top Nadal chooses. See reactions to his fashion statement below. > [](https://twitter.com/LarkLogan/status/1034422494936088576) > [](https://twitter.com/rajeshworld/status/1034262380262260736) > [](https://twitter.com/linaeyen/status/1034429569690943491) > [](https://twitter.com/kryptobanana/status/1034273002936889344) > [](https://twitter.com/McEnroeTweets/status/1034266288670076928) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5380365/rafael-nadal-sleeveless/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5380365/rafael-nadal-sleeveless/"},"headline":"Rafael Nadal Has Returned to the Glory of His Signature Look at the U. S. 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