Novak Djokovic is the last man standing. Not only will he forever have more grand slam titles than tennis legends Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, he’s also outlasted them all on the court. Now he has set his sights on nabbing another record, this time from Nadal. It’s not his number of French Open grand slams because that’s unattainable—rather it’s horology related. Djokovic fancies challenging the Spaniard in the lightweight watches stakes.
Today, Djokovic takes his relationship with Hublot, the watch brand he signed with in 2021, to the next level. That’s right, the 37-year-old tennis star and the so-called jokers of the watch world have created a special 42mm Big Bang Unico in honor of Djokovic that’s super lightweight and part-made out of the Serbian’s tennis rackets, among other things.
Alex Teuscher
“This limited-edition watch was a long time in the making,” Djokovic writes to me via email. “I could not wait to have this special piece on my wrist, let alone meet a few of those who will also be lucky enough to get it.”
For Djokovic, having a watch that’s light enough to be a part of his gear on and off the court has always been a dream of his. And at 49.5 grams, this watch achieves that. “Hublot, masters of creating innovative materials, created a unique composite by recycling my HEAD racquets and Lacoste polos from my 2023 grand slam winning season to create it,” he adds, neither confirming nor denying whether the kit in question was washed or not.
Launched in Paris Wednesday evening by Hublot’s new CEO Julien Tornare at a special event, both sides of the net hope it will be the first of many projects to collaborate on.
Alex Teuscher
Alex Teuscher
Alex Teuscher
“It’s a very cool approach to up-cycle his rackets and outfits. The watch is super light and there are a lot of talking points,” Tornare tells me the week before the launch. “Over the last few weeks [since joining Hublot], I’ve been thinking about new ideas that I want to share with Novak and see how we can build the future together. He’s the greatest player of all time from a results point of view so we have to think about how we can celebrate his career achievements.”
