An Inside Look at the Brand New Chrome Set
These are exciting times indeed for tennis at Topps. On Wednesday, the release of 2024 Topps Chrome Tennis marks the start of a new era for tennis and the hobby. Thanks to advances in licensing, the second-ever Chrome Tennis set is a phenomenal expansion for the brand and collectors. “We are proud of our 2021 Topps Chrome debut; it was a Tennis Hall of Fame product, so it featured what the THOF could deliver,” said Product Brand Manager David Sharp. This year, the release is a Professional Tennis Players Association product, which has really opened doors and brought unbelievable depth to our checklist.”
This year’s base set features 200 cards, including rookie card debuts for Ben Shelton, the young American who made his first career grand slam semi-final at the 2023 US Open, 17-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva, and recent Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng, all of whom also have autos. The partnership with the PTPA has also led to the creation of tagged first-time cards.
2024 Topps Chrome Tennis New Design Provides New Visuals
In addition to a change of partnership, the product team set out to change the design. “First and foremost, we wanted to create an appealing natural background to build out our visuals. While most of the natural background is artistically faded, it shows the player on a court (with fans), so the images never feel isolated. The faded-out part of the natural background allows a wide variety of parallels, which is essential for a Topps Chrome product. Several new parallels, including The Purple & Green and Pineapple Refractors, pay homage to arguably the most prestigious of all the Grand Slam events, Wimbledon.”
Building New Inserts and Maintaining Tradition in 2024 Topps Chrome Tennis
There are spectacular new inserts for collectors to get their hands on. “Captured turned out better than we could have asked for. We wanted to showcase historic wins and the unique trophies in the sport,” said Sharp. The insert features a Polaroid-style image with the player holding or kissing a trophy.
Patriotic Pride is a short-printed insert that pays homage to the true international flavor of the sport. “Obviously, in tennis, national pride plays a big role in fandom, and we wanted to bring that to life in this year’s set,” explained Sharp. Served! is a new insert with a four-color image that draws inspiration from 2023 Bowman Chrome Baseball.
The Grand Slam Champion, a visually classy insert, appears as a banner with a light shining down. Two images of the winner, one in color in the foreground and the other in sepia in the background, feature here. 24-time slam winner Novak Djokovic, Andre Agassi, and Steffi Graf also feature here.
Aces returns to the fold, continuing a theme that appears in other sets across the Chrome brand. “Aces lines up with the Chrome Baseball insert that highlights the game’s best pitchers, as well as the Kings & Queens found in Chrome UFC, it’s a key throughline we wanted to keep going. It wouldn’t be a Chrome tennis product without Aces,” said Sharp.
Rare Inserts Shine in New Set
The rarest case hit insert is Game Set Match, a stunning retro design. “We’re thrilled with the look – it’s a throwback. A 90s’ die cut that was prominent in many popular inserts back in the day,” said Sharp. Toppsspin is wonderfully dizzying, “a colorful design, spiral-like, as though the ball itself is coming at you.”
And, of course, the deeper checklist brings a whole bevy of chase-worthy autos from top stars like Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek and legends such as Pete Sampras and Venus Williams.
2024 Chrome Tennis is a beautifully designed set that represents a huge step forward for Topps, tennis, and The Hobby and leaves no doubt—Chrome Tennis is here to stay. Sharp declared, “2025 is already cooking.”
