Townsend like the phoenix to adorn her apparel at US Open

Viewers of the splashy new US Open mixed doubles championship will see some of tennis' most recognizable stars pairing up — Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu; Taylor Fritz and Elena Rybakina; Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys.

- Josh Levin

NEW YORK - They will also see familiar athletic brands.

Alcaraz, Keys and Raducanu are all paid to wear the Nike swoosh. Fritz has an apparel contract with Hugo Boss, Rybakina with Yonex and Tiafoe with Lululemon. Ben Shelton, the young American tennis star who is also in the competition, is sponsored by On.

His mixed doubles partner, Taylor Townsend, recently became the world No. 1 women's doubles player. But many people may not recognize the logo she is wearing.

Townsend, 29, has been playing without an official clothing sponsor since 2017, when her contract with Nike lapsed. In 2025, those closely following her on-court appearances might have noticed her in garments with an interlocking TT, the logo for a namesake apparel brand she has been developing.

After eight years of playing in clothes bought off the rack and without a sponsorship, Townsend decided "to do my own thing," as she put it in an interview. She has enlisted the help of Talton Alexander-John Ballard, 45, a designer outside Atlanta who goes by Alexander-John, and who has worked with New Balance and Puma.