The Evolution of Tennis Fashion: Rafael Nadal

Here's 16-year-old Nadal, sporting his short-shorts and incredibly baggy T-shirt. Do those sleeves cover his elbow? Yes, they do.

Still swimming in shirts -- and he wasn't the worst one at the tournament.

Nadal's billowing shirt -- in a new, lime-green color -- makes it easier for torso exposure during the match.

Still sticking with the white headband, Nadal finally opts for a better-fitting top.

Nadal continues the aggressive look of his soon-to-be signature sleeveless shirt and makes his transformation into a style icon.

A mustard yellow sleeveless top and thick, white wristbands for New York.

The addition of his "piratas" marked the birth of Nadal's trademark look: sleeveless tops and capri-length pants.

The beginning of Nadal's love for orange, and Nike's love for waved, two-toned designs.

Nike put a green-spin on Rafa's signature style just in time for his maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Rafa went with an all-white, collared and quarter-zip version of his sleeveless top for the All England Club.

Nadal sported a rare monochrome top for his win over Andre Agassi in the final of the Rogers Cup.

This skin-tight, sleeveless crop top was a one-time wonder at the U.S. Open, after Nadal lost in the third round.

Back to orange -- and a distinctive Nadal dive -- at Indian Wells.

Nike went with a two-toned sleeveless top for the French Open. Black in the back...

...and Roger Federer-matching blue in the front. And with that, never again did Nike try to make two kits out of one swath of fabric for its two male stars.

Rafa looks sleek and sharp in his Wimbledon whites, adorned with strokes of black.

Nadal got a brief respite from his capris with these long shorts for the summer. (He lost to Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals at this U.S. Open.)

Nadal embodies his country's colors with this red and yellow ensemble as he represented Spain at the Davis Cup.

Back to the piratas, looking like a man prepared to hit the Australian Outback.

Pirata twinsies!

At this point it became clear that while Nike would kit Roger Federer out in conservative solid colors, Nadal was going to get the bold neon colors.

Nadal in Karate Kid patterned headbands? No.

Nadal goes green in his 2008 French Open winning kit.

Greatest match of all time = Greatest kit of all time? Is that how it works?

The orange headband and wristbands were odd, but Nadal's Spain kit was worthy of a gold medal in Beijing.

Nike's insistence on putting random patterns on Rafa has always been a head-scratcher.

Nike finally goes with a polo shirt with sleeves. And thus begins the fashion maturation of Rafa Nadal.

An underrated kit. Simple, clean, but still fun.

At this point it became clear that collars were not going to work on Rafa.

Nadal's only loss at Roland Garros came in this garishly-pink collared shirt. Not a trophy-worthy look.

Patterned shorts. Let's not.

Then again, patterned shorts done right. The subtlety is key.

Nadal wins his second Wimbledon title in a v-neck.

This was 100 percent, hands down the best kit Rafa's ever worn. Darth Nadal was a treat.

Nadal ended up tearfully losing to David Ferrer in the quarterfinals at this Australian Open, but all we can remember is his distractingly large t-shirt.

Once again, bright solid colors to the rescue.

Federer's Red vs. Nadal's Blue at the French Open.

Somewhere along the line Nadal's shirts became much clingier.

Victory Red.

Sadly the sombrero was not a permanent accessory.

A simple kit for Nadal's eighth French Open title.

Slate bluish-grey with hot pink accents, Nike once again delivered for Rafa in New York.

The era of short-shorts begins.

No really, they got really short.

A return to blue in Madrid.

Nadal wins his ninth French Open in gray thigh-bearing shorts. Boxers, essentially.