.” I only gained and also I desire thumps,” Croatian ping pong celebrity Donna Vekiu0107 announces Friday afternoon of the United States Open. She’s merely beaten Peyton Stearns– as well as after extending and also bathing– her next deter pre-press conference is actually the petit Julien Farel pop-up beauty parlor hidden inside Queens’s Arthur Ashe Coliseum. “I had actually been standing by all period to see Julian and also obtain raps inspired through Margot Robbie.” More than 20 years back, hairstylist Julien Farel moved toward the United States Tennis Affiliation with a concept: a hair salon where ping pong gamers could visit for a haircut, design, or one more form of self-care during the course of the US Open, one of the best high-intensity competitions of their year.
“It took them 5 years to okay me,” Farel, now 16 years right into the beauty salon partnership at the Open, tells me with a smile. “I was really consistent because I knew this will be a perk for several athletes. As well as I corrected.
Right now, they wait for this minute to follow in and also get a hairstyle.” Many of the sporting activity’s largest titles have actually sat inside this hair salon, which is just open during both full weeks of the competition: “I reduced Rafael Nadal’s hair from lengthy to quick in 2010, that occurred on this site and also it was a huge package. Everyone from Billie Jean Master to [Martina] Navratilova has sat in these chairs. Our team had Coco listed below right after she succeeded in 2013’s tournament, also.” Vekiu0107 as well as her brand new bangs, recently cut through Julien Farel.Photographed by Caroline Tompkins.