This article first appeared in the October/November 2026 issue of Australian Tennis Magazine. To order your copy, visit tennismag.com.au.
Far from one-dimensional, these players' passions go beyond tennis to encompass everything, from painting, photography, music and beyond.
Dressed as art
Naomi Osaka was a living masterpiece at the 2026 Met Gala, collaborating with London-based couturier Robert Wun – whom she had worked with previously on her iconic look at Australian Open 2026 – on a striking design that nailed the Met Gala brief of “Fashion is Art”. The outfit, including the dramatic white outer shell and inner beaded dress, was reported to take 3200 hours to produce. Osaka’s appreciation for fashion, especially couture, is a way to express her creativity. During Roland Garros 2026, Osaka shared: “I feel like fashion for me, I tell people I don't talk a lot so that way I can talk through my clothes, and that means I can be as loud with colours or patterns or fabric as I want,” she said.
A way with words
As crafty with a pen as she is with a racquet, former top-10 player Andrea Petkovic spends her retirement wielding words like magic. When she wasn’t on court, Petkovic’s favourite pastime was reading, especially the works of her favourite authors Oscar Wilde and Johann Goethe. Petkovic also started writing a column for German publication Süddeutsche Zeitung in April 2018, before her regular contributions to the major German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Since her retirement in 2022, Petkovic has well and truly combined her two passions – tennis and writing – in the form of her wildly successful Substack publication Infinite Jest.
Finding the rhythm
For Lorenzo Sonego, music has been as much a part of his life as his tennis. When he was younger, creating songs was a passionate hobby. It wasn’t until 2021 that the Italian teamed up with childhood friend and musician AlterEdo to release the hit “Un Solo Secondo”, which has surpassed 1.7 million listens on Spotify. “I think my friend is really creative,” Sonego told ATPtour.com. “I just put in the voice and some of the words, but the really hard work is done by my friend. It is good for switching off from the tennis. To have something different and to spend time with my friend.”
Painting outside the box
When Amanda Anisimova took an eight-month break from the tour in 2023 to nurture her mental health and wellbeing, she turned to painting. A childhood passion, the craft helps quieten her mind. And as it turns out, the American has a talent for it. Her pieces have been described as abstract, creative and playful, with bold colours that can’t help but catch the eye. Anisimova produced paintings weekly and when left with an abundance of artwork, decided to do something with it. She started a website to sell her paintings, with proceeds going to charities supporting mental health causes. Her work caught the attention of a New York-based artist Ted Dimond, who featured Anisimova’s pieces in his gallery.
Striking a different chord
Frenchman Ugo Humbert was a reluctant pianist as a child, preferring tennis lessons to the musical kind. These days, however, Humbert is grateful his parents encouraged him to learn the instrument, with music offering a respite from the demands of the tour. “For me, it's more fun to play piano than guitar because I'm better at piano, so it's easier to handle a little bit,” Humbert told ATPtour.com. “But it's nice to play some music, to think about something different, to be not in tennis every time.”
A giant appetite for art
Reilly Opelka, the 211-centimetre American known for his dangerous serve, has made no secret of his appreciation for the arts. By age 19, Opelka was spending as much of his free time as possible getting lost in museums and art galleries. From that point on, he has made it his mission to immerse himself in the art world, sometimes visiting the same museum twice in a week, meeting and befriending artists, and collecting unique pieces. He particularly favours the work of German visual artist Friedrich Kunath. One of Opelka’s first pieces purchased was a Kunath, a neo-Romantic painting of a sunset titled “I Am Easy to Find”, which sits at the entrance of Opelka’s home in Delray Beach, Florida.
Serving up sparkle
Former world No.2 Paula Badosa has always had an eye for jewellery. Even while on court, it’s rare to spot the Spaniard without the sparkle of diamonds dangling from her ears, or ropes of fine gold chain adorning her neck. In 2025, Badosa teamed up with The 1916 Company, a luxury watch and jewellery company based in Philadelphia, USA, to create her own collection. Drawing inspiration from the sport she loves, her Aces by Paula Badosa collaboration features 18 carat gold, sparkling diamonds and sunburst designs.
A different perspective
Stefanos Tsitsipas’ eye for photography has not only seen the Instagram page dedicated to his art grow to more than 27,000 followers, but has also seen his works exhibited at Photo Basel 2026, an international art fair in Switzerland. Under the alias ‘Stiopkyn’, Tsitsipas photographs stunning landscapes – often from his travels – and powerful portraits that tell a story. He previously described his photography as a way to disconnect from the pressure and expectation that accompanies life on tour.
Making a statement in style
You might think that a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion like Serena Williams would have little time for extracurricular interests beyond tennis. But Williams, when she was at the dawn of her dominant era in the early 2000s, also pursued her passion for fashion by attending the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to study fashion design. Since then, the unique, daring and one-of a-kind ensembles Williams has rocked both on and off the court speak to her sharp eye for style. In 2018, Williams launched her own fashion brand after years of collaboration with brands including Nike and HSN. Her label, Serena, is geared towards empowering women to express their creativity.
A passion for design
Along with seven Grand Slam titles and four Olympic gold medals, Venus Williams has kept one foot on court and the other in interior design. After pursuing a fashion degree alongside sister Serena in the 2000s, Williams went on to earn an associate degree in interior design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. This spurred the former world No.1 to establish design firm V Starr in 2002. Known for its sophisticated designs in both commercial and residential spaces, V Starr’s clients have included Hilton and Intercontinental Hotels & Resorts. Design has become more than a creative outlet – it’s also a way for Venus to combine her eye for detail, sense of style and knack for business in a fulfilling way.
