Rafael Nadal’s “What The” Nike Shoe Honors His Winning Footwear In Paris

Known as the “King of Clay,” tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has taken home a whopping 11 titles on the French Open’s clay courts, and he’ll now shoot for #12 in a new NikeCourt Cage 3 Glove “What The Rafa.” Honoring the footwear Nadal sported in his previous victories — ranging all the way from 2005’s Air Max Breathe Free II to 2018’s Air Zoom Cage III — the shoes feature a bold mix of patterns and colors for a look that’s almost as breathtaking as the Spanish savant’s play. The upper’s zip-closure shroud draws from the Nike Zoom Flight ’98 and provides function to go along with fashion, as it prevents the court’s malleable clay from working its way into the shoe’s laces. As “What The” makeups are usually reserved for Nike Basketball athletes like LeBron James and Kevin Durant, this Cage 3 Glove provides an interesting continuation of the Swoosh Brand’s recent efforts to draw parallels between the worlds of hoops and tennis, and they’ll release on Nike.com May 26th. Get a first look here, and tune in to see if Nadal can continue to make history in his compelling new footwear over the next two weeks.