Jimmy Connors: The Original Tacchini Trailblazer

The Sergio Tacchini Tomme track top revives the legendary 70s style as famously worn by Jimmy Connors at the Wimbledon final in 1975.

When it comes to the classic sportswear from the 1970s & the 1980s it's usually got some form of sporting legend attached to it. Tennis legends like Jimmy Connors that burst onto the tennis scene in 1974 & took Grand Slam glories throughout a golden era of style driven sportswear pioneered brands like Sergio Tacchini to new levels of sportswear stardom. Tacchini didn't just want the traditional tennis types, he wanted the winners, the grafters & the players who stuck two fingers up to the "la di da" tennis world. In the case of Jimmy Connors he literally did. Connors started a new era of rock 'n' rollers on the courts that would inspire the next generation of tennis talent like John McEnroe throughout the early 80s. Throughout his highly profiled career "The People's Champion" had style, he hung out with celebrities like Mohammed Ali & even dated Miss World. If there was ever a tennis player for a contemporary, style driven sportswear brand, Connors was your man. Above: The Sergio Tacchini Jimmy Connors track top in gardenia green now available from 80s Casual Classics. The 1975 Wimbledon final saw Connors go head to head with fellow American Arthur Ashe. Ashe beat Connors to become the very first black man to win a singles title at the prestigious grass tournament and although Connors was the bookies favourite to win, as he was seeded number 1 at the time, Connors was outmatched. Connors had apparently gained 20 pounds earlier in the year due to his playboy lifestyle which resulted in no major Grand Slam trophies in 1975 compared to winning the Australian Open, the US Open & Wimbledon in the previous year. The American tennis legend remained the number 1 seed throughout 1975 making it to 3 Grand Slam finals and even though he didn't win any, it marked a new chapter for Sergio Tacchini. Sponsoring Connors at the time was a big deal & Tacchini took full advantage of it. Originally sponsored by Fred Perry, 1975 saw Connors switch his endorsement allegiance to the Italian sportswear brand. The sponsorship didn't last that long though with Connors switching to Robert Bruce JC in 1975 and then Cerutti 1881 throughout the early 1980s. Above: The Sergio Tacchini Jimmy Connors track top in gardenia green now available from 80s Casual Classics. The crowd favourite was even dating the Wimbledon women's champion, Chris Evert, in 1974. The two winners were both famously pictured together with their trophies and even though the relationship fizzled out pretty quickly it was something like the 1970s power couple equivalent of Posh & Becks or Lee Majors & Farrah Fawcett, with every magazine from New York to Nice wanting to snap them up. As far as it couples were concerned in 1974, the "Lovebird Double" were the talk of the tennis world & beyond. Connors' popularity with the ladies, lavish lifestyle & loutish behaviour on the court was exactly what Sergio Tacchini had been looking for. Above: The Sergio Tacchini Jimmy Connors track top in gardenia green now available from 80s Casual Classics. The original Sergio Tacchini track top which was famously worn by Jimmy Connors at the Wimbledon final in 1975 now arrives at 80s Casual Classics in all its OG glory in the form of the Tomme track top. Boasting the original gardenia green colourway as worn by the American tennis legend, the Tomme features a soft poly-cotton fabric with the famous colour-blocked panelling and stripes of the mid 70s sportswear silhouette. Finished off with the iconic ST branding to the left, the Tomme is a must have retro tennis style for all ages. Shop the very latest arrivals at Sergio Tacchini now via the links.