Pink is the color of Roland Garros for New Balance in 2026.
New Balance
New Balance continues to make its presence in tennis felt. Along with key footwear pieces tied to Coco Gauff’s signature line, sponsoring the Australian Open each January and on-court kits for tournament-level players, New Balance has expanded its lineup of performance kits with a seasonal collection in a mix of tournament-specific colorways available at retail.
And fans can thank Tommy Paul and Sorana Cirstea for this season’s fabrics.
As the seasonal collection moves toward the clay of Roland Garros, the newest colorway of “pink heat, NB white, pink salt and faded black” takes the stage in a range of pieces for both men and women. “We’re taking classic tennis DNA and updating it for today,” Harry Champion, New Balance product merchant for tennis apparel, tells me about the release. “You still have those familiar elements—pleats, collars—but we’re bringing them to life with new fabrics and refined details that feel modern and elevated. Our goal is telling a head-to-toe story.”
The fabric portion of that story came thanks to Paul and Cirstea. Champion says that when the pair visited New Balance headquarters in Boston, the brand had a front runner and a backup for each style. “They each tested both versions in our Sports Research Lab and by the end of the testing the results were clear: the backup versions were far superior in both comfort and performance,” he says. “So we dropped the original front runners and proceeded with the preferred versions. This resulted in bringing our most innovative apparel platform to NB Tennis through the Men’s Tournament Polo and Tournament Novelty Top.”
Creating larger tennis collections with a mix of colorways is part of the New Balance strategy.
New Balance
The seasonal collection features a mix of colorways. A faded black, sea salt, glint blue and alkaline green already debuted at Indian Wells and Miami, while the teal-inspired “deep end and Medusa green” was seen in Madrid, Rome and Stuttgart. Fans will next see the pink-heavy collection hit the clay in Paris for Roland Garros.
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“The bright bursts of pink were intentional,” Champion says. “On clay, you want colors that stand out and feel energized.” He says the pink creates distinctive visual moments. The event also adds a tournament dress to take advantage of the popularity of the event. “Pink against the clay is striking and ties back to the energy of the tournament,” he says, “while the black and white balance it and keep it grounded in classic tennis.”
Each collection colorway extends to the footwear lineup, with special colorways of the Coco CG2, Coco Delray, Fresh Foam X CT-Rally v2 and FuelCell 996v6 coming in matching colors.
The Coco Delray tennis shoe mixes pink and grey, merging performance with lifestyle for New Balance.
New Balance
The four majors each offer “runway moments” for New Balance. Champion says that while the majors offer their own energy and story, they are part of a cohesive narrative from the brand. For example, the Roland Garros and Wimbledon collections feature the same apparel and footwear, but each in a unique color meant to “honor the history and traditions” of each tournament. “It’s strategic,” Champion says, “but flexible enough that each major can feel special and distinctive.”
Following Roland Garros, New Balance players heading to Berlin, London and Bad Homburg will return to the earlier “deep end and medusa green” colorway before the traditional NB White takes over at Wimbledon, this time accented with elements of “deep end and black.”
As New balance marries the color connections between apparel and footwear, one athlete still stands alone. Coco Gauff has her own look for each major, as the brand works closely with her to create custom looks. While some elements tie to the seasonal collections, Champion says other times the brand is looking to take risks to create unique pieces that feel “distinctly Coco.”
New performance materials and fabrics are meant to reduce bulk on New Balance tennis apparel.
New Balance
At non-major tournaments Gauff wears the seasonal collection pieces to create cohesion across the brand. At Roland Garros, Gauff will have a custom kit that won’t debut until she hits the court. “That authenticity comes through, and there’s a connection between her custom moments and our broader collections so it all feels part of one larger New Balance story,” Champion says. “She’s helping elevate what tennis apparel can be and showing that it can be part of a larger lifestyle and fashion conversation—creating that bridge for everyday players to connect with what elite athletes are wearing and doing.”
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Champion says athlete feedback drives each new collection, especially in the way the products perform on the court (or how long the shorts are, led by Paul pioneering the five-inch short before it became popular, and he opted to go longer).
Moving forward, New Balance plans more player-led product storytelling—a recent Paul CT-Rally Outdoor Court footwear launch around Miami offered an example—so athlete personalities and interests can help shape product. “Tennis is a category where we can really differentiate,” Champion says, “and we’re committed to bringing modern design and performance storytelling to a sport that’s growing in viewership and participation.”
Each year, though, the biggest moments happen around the majors. From the Australian Open’s bright colors to Wimbledon’s whites, Champions says they are deepening the head-to-toe coordination and looking at each year as an opportunity to bring “new colors, styles and energy into our designs.”
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