NEW YORK – Walking out with headphones to the slightly muted screams of the crowd. Drinking the same energy drink before each match. Bouncing the ball a specific number of times before serving.
For the up-and-comers, the dark horses and the greats at the US Open, it's about the ritual, tapping into a different mentality before serving up greatness under the lights.
But one match-day custom is shrouded from the crowds, on the third floor of Arthur Ashe stadium next door to a luxe workout facility: It's an appointment at the executive salon run by Julien Farel, the French hairstylist who has serviced the US Open for nearly 20 years. Sitting in one of the six chairs in the bright and cozy room has become a ritualistic reprieve – and a secret weapon
for the US Open's biggest stars.
"The most exciting part of this tournament is the energy of the player," Farel tells USA TODAY. Though he's styled everyone from Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams to Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula (as well as celebrities like Kate Moss, Salma Hayek and Richard Gere in his New York City, Hamptons and Palm Beach salons), he's energized by the young talent.
"When they are on the rising point, they have this amazing part of them where they have a vision, and they move forward towards it. That's what's helped us, as a more mature hairdresser who's been doing [hair] for a long time, to keep having the energy and the excitement of the tournament. … The rising stars are really like the underdog who're coming and who are so hungry," Farel says.
Where fashion has becoming intrinsically intertwined with the game, as too have the hairstyles, both signature and surprising.
"They have an image to keep, so they want to look good, but at the same time, they have to make sure they're not bothered by the hairstyle," Farel says.
Novak Djokovic is 'very, very funny,' hairstylist shares
The often stoic four-time US Open champion Djokovic has a totally different energy off court, Farel reveals.
"Djokovic's been always the the life of the party," Farel says.
"He doesn't show" that side often, Farel says, "but he's a funny guy. He has very good sense of humor. He's very charming. He's very flirty."
Djokovic is "really a very talented man, extremely disciplined, but at the same time, very very funny," the longtime hairstylist says, and he "is the one who really has shared the most of his personal life."
"It was explained to me years ago that they would wake him up at 2 o'clock in the morning to get 250 grams of meat in the middle of the night. So he will eat and go back to sleep. And [the tennis players] are performers. They know their physical [health] is very important when they do the US Open."
While some players are ready to joke and laugh while in the chair, others find more solace in silence.
"Some of them who are not talking much, they just put their headphones on it, and they just don't want to share. You respect it. It's a client, right?" Farel says. "Of course, they come in your chair: Some of them want to work, some of them want to relax, some of some of them want to focus on something else. And you're there to perform your job and whatever they ask you, and that's it."
Farel adds, "They need to be prepared for their game, and depending of who they're going to meet, they have to understand the game of the other person, how they're going to play it."
Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams US Open hairstyles elevate 'voice' of tennis fashion
For Gauff, whose exciting victory against 18-year-old Iva Jovic was primetime viewing Sept. 7, heading to the salon is part of the getting-ready process, much like for competitors Naomi Osaka and Williams, who have set trends and made visual statements with their looks.
"Naomi was like a mini me with Serena," Farel says. "She was really looking to her as her mentor, and she even today she does has a voice regarding her outfits and what she's going wear and how she wants [everything], if she wants ribbon and no ribbon in her hair."
Farel recalls a pivotal moment with former champ Rafael Nadal, just after they started working together.
"He said, 'I want a different [look].' So we went from long to short. It [ultimately] wasn't short, but for him that was short because he always had really long hair," Farel says. "And that year he won the tournament, so then I became his lucky charm. So every year after he would come, and he had to see me."
Anika Reed is USA TODAY's deputy entertainment editor, covering all things entertainment and pop culture. Find her on Instagram and TikTok, or send her an email at ajreed@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The secret weapon of the top US Open stars
