H&M is taking on sportswear giants such as Nike and adidas with its new move. The retailer has teamed up with international tennis player Tomas Berdych, who is ranked 6th in the world, to “mark a new chapter in the relationship between sport and fashion.” The global sports star will wear the clothes of the brand on and off the court and will also work in a tie-up with the H&M design team, developing a unique tennis collection, which is to arrive in stores later this year.

Photo: Tomas Berdych becomes one of H&M’s ambassadors, www.about.hm.com(click ro enlarge)

The upcoming line will be the first tennis-focused range created by H&M. “I am so happy to welcome Tomas to the H&M family. Tomas is such an exciting player, and he also cares greatly about style. We can’t wait to start working with him, to watch Tomas wear H&M on court, and to see our upcoming collection with him in H&M stores worldwide”, commented Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of H&M. The retailer says that it will be up to Tomas to decide which items from H&M’s menswear collections he will wear in public off the court.

Earlier this month, adidas unveiled the new 2013 tennis collection, adidas Stella McCartney barricade. In Australia, the brand presented the new collection of tennis apparel (worn by tennis players Caroline Woznicaki, Maria Kirilenko and Laura Robson) on the mirror court.