The Story Behind Hublot and Novak Djokovic's First Watch Collaboration
The Swiss watchmaker drew on sporting history to create this lightweight hard-hitter.
In September 2023, Novak Djokovic battled Daniil Medvedev to clinch the US Open title in a straight-sets victory that marked his 24th Grand Slam win – a record unmatched by any other male tennis player. It’s a historic achievement worth celebrating and Hublot is serving up this limited-edition timepiece that, in line with its hard-hitting inspiration, is unlike anything we’ve seen before.
The innovation lies in the watch’s case and bezel, which are made of epoxy resin mixed with 25 recycled Head tennis racquets and 32 Lacoste polo shirts Djokovic used during his landmark 2023 season, which included three Grand Slam titles. Speckled with fragments of blue, white and grey textiles, the material has a futuristic camouflage aesthetic. The visual contrast of fluoro-yellow accents on the dial and one of the pushers evokes the countless balls that Djokovic has dispatched with varying degrees of ferocity during his epic career.
This novelty value is backed by high-performance functionality. In order to produce a watch light enough for Djokovic to wear on court, Hublot had to find ways to whittle down its overall weight. To achieve this, they crafted the Unico chronograph movement in aluminium rather than brass, while the sapphire crystal normally used in high-end watches was swapped for tempered Gorilla glass, a chemically strengthened material more commonly found in premium electronics. The resulting watch weighs just 49.5 grams, making it lighter than a tennis ball but still tough enough to withstand a five-set marathon against a big-serving opponent.
