Jordan Thompson Embracing Personal Style At Home Tennis Slam

When you see Australian tennis star Jordan Thompson trapsing about the Australian Open grounds in Melbourne between interviews and photo shoots he looks more like a runner than a tennis player in his New Balance gear. That explains some of the reason the World No. 27 was so enthralled when the Boston-based brand made Thompson one of the first New Balance tennis athletes in mid-2014.

“I used to do cross country,” Thompson tells me ahead of the tournament. “New Balance had unbelievable runners. (I thought) they got to turn that into tennis.”

Thompson, the longest-tenured New Balance tennis athlete, believes they’ve succeeded. “It gets better and better year after year,” he says. “A lot of people come up to me and ask how New Balance has become one of the best (in tennis). They are the best. It has been night and day since we started.”

The off-court style of Thompson retains that same running vibe he’s long exuded, because that’s what he’s comfortable in. He likes the look of ankle socks with runners lightly laced. And the shorter the shorts, the better, he says. “I just like looking like a runner,” he says. “And if I do go for a run, sometimes I wear a singlet and the hat backwards.”

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The hat is always backwards for Thompson, whether running or on the tennis court. “I always say that if a hat doesn’t look good forward, I can pull it off backward,” he jokes. “I feel more comfortable, it has always fit for me with the long hair, and I look like a runner.”

For the 2025 Australian Open, the hat turns tennis ball yellow, matching either a yellow shirt for sun-drenching day matches and a dark green top for when the sun doesn’t threaten. And since Thompson can’t wear his favorite PVLSE running shoes on the tennis court, he opts for the Fresh Foam CT Rally, praising the durability that has only improved since his early days with the company. “I spoke and they listened,” he says. “I’m thankful for that.”

When it comes to picking out his on-court apparel, Thompson isn’t fussy about colors, but he has strong opinions on sizes. For shorts, he wants them short. And he wants a tight top. “When I wear a baggy top, I sweat profusely, so when it is baggy, it gets heavy,” he explains. “If it is skin-tight, I don’t feel like it is restricting. Other guys feel the complete opposite, but for me it is much more comfortable.”

He still does have a few favorites from his archives of kits over the years. In 2017 at the U.S. Open he was able to don a colorful kit—he called the green socks “Kermit socks”—and still has a photo of himself from the 2018 Roland Garros on his wall at home. “I think that was one of the best shirts I have had on,” he says. Another top choice came last year in Australia, where he appreciated the navy top with the backward navy hat, something he wore during the “great Aussie summer” and then while winning his first title in Los Cabos.

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With only six professional players on the New Balance tennis roster, Thompson says the group feels tight knit. He remembers when the brand signed Tommy Paul and the American came in asking for the Jordan Thompson shoe. “Now he has overtaken me in the rankings, and it has become the Tommy Paul shoe,” he says. Thompson sites a time when he forgot clothes for a photo shoot in New York and Paul told him to go through his locker and borrow whatever he needed. “We are such a tight-knight and small community,” Thompson says, “but we are a happy one.”

Evan Zeder, New Balance director of global sports marketing for tennis, says that long history is part of the brand’s plan. “Jordan is one of the most easy-going, great guys and he connects with the Aussie fans,” Zeder says about a player that the brand recently resigned. “Jordan is at his highest ranking in 10 years. There is nothing but excitement because of the authenticity (of the relationship).”

With nearly an 11-year history with the brand, the stable of lifestyle sneakers is starting to grow as strong as his running shoe collection. A recent pickup of a T-shirt with all the colors of the basketball-style 550 on it has inspired his latest efforts. “There are so many different colors of the 550, so when I got that shirt, I said I gotta start a collection of the 550s,” he says. “Those are sick.”

But for a fan of running who says he still wears them 80% of the time, his favorite non-running off-court sneaker is still the New Balance 480. His opts for the plain white because they go with anything, especially a bright yellow hat worn backward.