Lifestyle
Leave a comment

Why You Can’t Buy Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon-Winning Nikes

Why You Can’t Buy Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon-Winning Nikes


Jannik Sinner has been a Nike man since 2022, and he’ proud of it. How do we know? Well, he told us himself. “Nike is really good at understanding me,” he said in a recent interview with British GQ. “They know what I like and what I don’t like.”

During Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s final, that relationship was on full display. On Sinner’s feet were the Nike GP Challenge 1.5, a pair of hard-court tennis shoes built for the sort of quick, aggressive movements that just helped him win Wimbledon for the second year in a row. There’s an Air Zoom unit in the forefoot to add a bit of pop to your first step, another in the heel for support, and a strong plastic plate through the midfoot to keep things nice and stable when moving from side to side. Webbing around the eyestays locks everything in, while extra rubber around the toe is designed to take a proper thrashing.

Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

In other words: It’s a very serious tennis shoe for very serious tennis players. And you can buy a pair right now. Just not Sinner’s pair.

That’s because the Italian pro’s GP Challenge 1.5 is player exclusive—known as a “PE” in sneakerhead parlance. While it’s based on the same silhouette you can pick up from the Swoosh, his version comes in a special white-and-green combo that was made just for him. There’s also a custom silver plate on the tongue that nodded to his Wimbledon win last year. Now that he’s just gone and won it again, it’s an even bigger flex.

PEs, of course, aren’t anything new in sports. Brands have been making custom colorways for their biggest athletes for years. But when the colorway in question looks this clean, and Sinner’s just worn it to win his Wimbledon title, it’s a little harder not to want to own it yourself.

The bad news is that his PE still isn’t up for grabs—and may never be. The good news? The regular GP Challenge 1.5 is available. It won’t come in Jannik Sinner’s colorway or that silver tongue plate, but the Air Zoom sole, stability tech, and all the other good stuff is there.

Image may contain: Clothing, Footwear, Shoe, Sneaker, Canvas, Running Shoe, and Suede

This story originally appeared on British GQ.



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *