Vanity Fair U.S.

Jun 2026

In King Of The Court, Vanity Fair U.S. distills the kinetic energy of tennis champion Carlos Alcaraz into a series of stoic, high-fashion editorial portraits. Eschewing the typical action-heavy tropes of sports photography, photographer Ethan James Green adopts a contemplative approach, focusing on the intersection of athleticism and tactile, earthy materiality. The imagery oscillates between the soft, directional illumination of studio strobe setups and the raw, flat quality of natural light, placing Alcaraz against gritty terracotta backdrops and deep, mottled grounds that underscore a monochromatic aesthetic. Fashion editor Dara expertly coordinates a palette of rust, tan, and dusty orange tones, utilizing tie-dye patterns and tailored silhouettes to blend the subject seamlessly into the environmental textures. This stylistic cohesion is further elevated by hair stylist Tamas Tuzes and makeup artist Emi Kaneko, who emphasize Alcaraz’s natural features and skin texture to achieve a cinematic, grounded sensibility. With set design by Marcs Bird providing a minimalist, architectural framework, the portraits lean into a portraiture style defined by symmetry and intimacy. By stripping away the stadium lights and crowds, the project reveals a different facet of the athlete, shifting the narrative focus from performance to the nuanced interplay of form, light, and composition in contemporary editorial portraiture.

Editorial, Vertical, Vertical

Natural light