Aryna Sabalenka put a Gucci handbag into tournament-court view at the Rome Open on Thursday.
The WTA world number one entered Foro Italico for a women’s singles match carrying Gucci’s Paparazzo large top-handle bag, a $3,650 style in sand and dark brown GG canvas with brown leather trim, gold-tone hardware, the house’s green-and-red Web stripe and a Horsebit detail across the front.
Aryna Sabalenka carried a Gucci Paparazzo large top-handle bag in GG canvas on court during the women’s singles match of the WTA Rome Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome on May 7.
Getty Images
The entrance gave tournament tennis its first fashion-handbag court arrival. Gucci had already entered the match-day conversation in 2023, when Jannik Sinner walked onto Wimbledon’s Centre Court with a custom GG duffel alongside his Head tennis bag. Sabalenka’s Paparazzo, however, came from the house’s current handbag line, not the tennis-luggage lane.
Jannik Sinner walks onto Centre Court at the 2023 Wimbledon’s Championships carrying a custom-designed Gucci duffel bag.
Courtesy of Gucci/Antoine Couvercelle
The Paparazzo sits in Gucci’s current push around familiar house codes, with the GG canvas, Horsebit and Web all visible from the court. The large top-handle version has a softly structured shape, with rounded corners, short leather handles and a leather tag stamped with “Made in Italy Gucci.” A gusset with a snap button adds room at the side, while the sand canvas lining is patterned with a Diamante motif. In Sabalenka’s hands, the bag read less like a locker-room carryall and more like a direct extension of tunnel dressing, now moved past the tunnel and onto the playing surface.
Gucci Paparazzo large top-handle bag in sand and brown GG canvas. Retail price as of writing: $3,650.
Gucci
Sabalenka’s Rome appearance came during a tense week for the sport. The world number one has been one of the most visible names pushing tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments — the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open — on prize money, player representation and welfare, alongside Coco Gauff and Sinner. Players have also raised the possibility of a boycott if the majors do not move closer to their request for a larger share of tournament revenue.
Sabalenka has also been building a more explicit fashion profile off the court. In April, she joined Shay Mitchell and Quavo as an investor in OneOff, the AI-driven fashion discovery platform. “Tennis and fashion are both really important to me,” Sabalenka told WWD at the time. “Whether I’m on court or off it, style is a big way I express myself.”
