US Open 2026: Seven Daytonas, One Sapphire Richard Mille, and a Timex
New York does not do restraint, and neither did the wrists. Federer brought two Rolexes, the Daytona turned up in every metal it comes in, a Patek and a Journe actually got played in, and somewhere in the suites a Timex held its own.
Federer wore two Rolexes, because of course he did
Retirement has not slowed Federer's watch rotation. For the exhibition hit with Lorenzo Musetti on Arthur Ashe he kept on the steel Oyster Perpetual with the tile dial, the Oyster Perpetual centenary piece that every ambassador from Messi to Sheeran has been handed this summer. Reports split on whether it was the 36 or the 41; we would settle for either. The remarkable part is that he played in it. A steel watch on an Oyster bracelet, mid-rally, is exactly the thing the rest of us are told will ruin the movement. Federer's guy will fix it.
For his International Tennis Hall of Fame induction he switched to the Land-Dweller, the integrated-bracelet Rolex he famously wore on a ski trip a few days before Rolex admitted it existed. Anthony Mackie had one in the stands the same week, which tells you how quickly a polarising new Rolex becomes a normal one once enough famous wrists have worn it. Twenty-five years into the Testimonee deal, Federer does not need a new watch to make news. Rolex sends them anyway.
Federer at a US Open press conference in Louis Armstrong Stadium. He has been a Rolex Testimonee for twenty-five years. Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0A Rolex Oyster Perpetual with the multi-colored tile dial. The centenary version Federer played in uses the same idea: colored tiles spelling out the brand name on a plain steel sports watch. EMore98 / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0The Land-Dweller's honeycomb dial and integrated bracelet. Federer wore one for his Hall of Fame induction; Anthony Mackie wore one in the stands. Verygoodlord / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0
We counted seven, and we probably missed a few. Jimmy Fallon opened on day two with a vintage 6239 Paul Newman, the "starter Newman" as collectors call it, which is a funny thing to call a six-figure watch. Carlos Alcaraz wore the yellow-gold Le Mans, the 24-hour-counter anniversary Daytona that Rolex never even listed on its website. How do you get one? You win Grand Slams and sign with Rolex. He arrived as defending champion and left in the quarter-finals to Ben Shelton, which means the watch outlasted the title run. Daytonas usually do.
Taylor Fritz wore the same yellow-gold 126508 he had at Wimbledon before a third-round exit, so at least the watch is consistent. Adam Pally's 16518 was the only Daytona in the building on a leather strap, and we salute the restraint. Lindsey Vonn's Everose Rainbow did what a rainbow bezel does, which is get photographed. Grant Hill's steel 116520 with the black dial and José Alvarado's silver-dial version were the palate cleansers, and after all that gold they looked like the smartest watches in the room. Seven Daytonas, no two alike. Rolex has been telling us it is one watch for sixty years. It is a family.
A yellow-gold Daytona 16528, the bracelet version of Adam Pally's leather-strap 16518. Gold Daytonas were the most repeated sighting of the tournament. Alesili / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0Carlos Alcaraz practising at the 2026 US Open. He wore the yellow-gold Daytona Le Mans and lost to Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals. Nrbelex / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 4.0
A watch worn during a match is worth three in the suites. Marta Kostyuk played her first round in a steel Aquanaut 5067A-014: diamond bezel, blue embossed dial, quartz, long discontinued, and swapped off its rubber onto a fabric strap for the job. Yes, quartz. Yes, a Patek. It is fine, the purists have had a lie-down. Donna Vekić played in an F.P. Journe Élégante, the quartz watch that goes to sleep when you set it down and snaps the hands back to the right time when you pick it up. That is roughly the only haute horlogerie feature with a legitimate reason to be on a tennis court.
Alex de Minaur played in a titanium Gerald Charles Maestro GC Sport, crown at nine o'clock, a London Jewellers centenary edition, and lost in the second round to Botic van de Zandschulp, which we are choosing not to blame on the crown position. Alexander Zverev stayed with his white-ceramic Jacob & Co. Epic X, visible from the upper deck as intended. Ben Shelton, the man who ended Alcaraz's run, is also a Rolex Testimonee and has been seen in the black-and-green GMT-Master II "Sprite"; had he gone all the way, there would have been a new green box on the table. João Fonseca withdrew before playing, taking his Daytona Panda and white-gold Yacht-Master 42 home unphotographed. A wrist list is also a record of who turned up.
The suite level looked like a Rolex boutique staffed entirely by celebrities, and honestly, better lit. Russell Wilson wore a yellow-gold Day-Date 228238 on the President bracelet on day four, the watch that has meant "I have arrived" since before he was born. Queen Latifah wore the two-tone Submariner 116613LB and Carl Radke the white-gold "Smurf" 116619LB, so the blue Sub was covered from both ends of the budget. Carmelo Anthony wore a Sky-Dweller, which is what you wear when the GMT-Master feels like too much work. Rolex has sponsored tennis for close to fifty years, and the US Open is where the receipts are.
Then the Knicks bench turned up. Tyler Kolek in a blue-dial Datejust, Peyton Watson in a mother-of-pearl Day-Date with diamond indices, and Miles McBride in a black-ADLC Santos de Cartier, the one man who missed the memo and looked better for it. Duncan Robinson wore a Tudor Black Bay 58 GMT with the red-and-black "Coke" bezel, at a shade over five thousand dollars the cheapest Swiss watch in the section by a country mile and, if we are honest, the one most of us could actually buy. Good on him.
Travis Scott wore the Richard Mille RM 75-01: case, bezel, and caseback machined from solid sapphire, a flying tourbillon floating inside, ten made, price on request, which is Richard Mille for "don't ask". Orlando Bloom wore the Porsche Design Chronograph 1 he helped launch, titanium and black and mostly reserved for Porsche owners, so bring your key fob. Dawn Staley wore a maroon-dial Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon, a coach's watch for a coach who wins. Jason Biggs wore a white-gold Calatrava 5296G with a sector dial, and we are not too proud to admit it is the one we would have taken home.
Kaia Gerber wore the small yellow-gold Panthère de Cartier with a black dress, and every report had it, because it is perfect. John Mulaney wore a Timex Marlin, white dial, green leather strap, and it took a zoom to work out that it cost less than the parking. AJ Dybantsa, this year's number-one NBA draft pick, wore a G-Shock G-Steel, which is exactly what you should wear with your first cheque before the jeweller gets hold of you. Wimbledon's dress code nudges everyone toward good taste. The US Open does not bother, and the wrist list is more fun for it.
A two-tone Panthère de Cartier. Kaia Gerber's was the all-gold small model, but the flexible multi-link bracelet is the same. Gisling / Wikimedia Commons - CC BY-SA 3.0
