What was René Lacoste's nickname?

René Lacoste’s nickname was “The Crocodile.”

The nickname referred to Lacoste’s determined, relentless approach on the tennis court. In the 1920s, an American journalist reportedly used it after hearing about a wager involving an alligator-skin suitcase. Although accounts differ over the exact wording and circumstances, “The Crocodile” became the lasting form of the nickname.

Lacoste embraced the identity, and his friend Robert George created a crocodile drawing that was embroidered onto a blazer Lacoste wore for matches. This turned a sports nickname into a personal insignia before it became the logo of a clothing company.

Lacoste was also known by another descriptive nickname, “the Tennis Machine,” for his methodical, low-error style. That phrase is not the source of the brand emblem, however. The crocodile association is the one connected to his name, his clothing, and the company he founded with André Gillier in 1933.