With the 2024 French Open up and running, it’s time for a new series, one we soft-launched on Twitter last year.
Yannick Noah’s sole men’s singles grand slam title was a special one, marking as it did the first home win at Roland Garros since 1946 – there has yet to be a French winner of the Coupe des Mousquetaires since.
There was an extra layer of appositeness given the logo displayed on the Frenchman’s outfits during the tournament, where he beat Anders Järryd, Víctor Pecci, Pat DuPré, John Alexander, Ivan Lendl, compatriot Christophe Roger-Vasselin and, lastly, Mats Wilander.
All primarily white, the polo shirts made by French firm Le Coq Sportif – worn unbuttoned by the swashbuckling Noah – featured coloured sleeves and a panel across the top of the body, featuring alternating pinstripes.
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In the semi-final against Roger-Vasselin, the red version was favoured while he had the yellow edition for the straight-sets final win over Wilander. The Hitachi logo was on the left sleeve.
The following year, Noah – now shorn of his dreadlocks – wore the same designs for his defence of the title, which ended at the quarter-final stage.
While he would not win another major title, his relationship with Le Coq Sportif endured until his retirement and he continued to be sharp dresser on court.
