." I only gained and I prefer whacks," Croatian tennis superstar Donna Vekiu0107 proclaims Friday afternoon of the US Open. She is actually only trumped Peyton Stearns-- and after flexing and showering-- her following deter pre-press event is the petit Julien Farel pop-up beauty salon concealed inside Queens's Arthur Ashe Arena. "I had actually been actually hanging around all season to see Julian and also acquire whacks motivated by Margot Robbie." More than two decades back, hairdresser Julien Farel moved toward the USA Ping Pong Affiliation along with a concept: a beauty salon where ping pong gamers might pop in for a haircut, style, or even yet another form of self-care in the course of the US Open, among one of the most high-intensity competitors of their year. "It took them five years to say yes to me," Farel, right now 16 years into the beauty salon partnership at the Open, tells me with a smile. "I was actually extremely relentless due to the fact that I understood this would certainly be actually a perk for lots of athletes. And I corrected. Right now, they wait on this instant to follow in as well as obtain a haircut." Many of the sport's most significant titles have rested inside this beauty parlor, which is only open during the course of both full weeks of the competition: "I reduced Rafael Nadal's hair coming from long to brief in 2010, that occurred right here and it was actually a large deal. Everyone from Billie Jean King to [Martina] Navratilova has actually partaken these chairs. Our team possessed Coco below straight after she gained in 2014's competition, as well." Vekiu0107 as well as her brand new booms, freshly cut by Julien Farel.Photographed by Caroline Tompkins.