Major milestone for Canada's Milos Raonic in Miami: "The Sleeve" turns one

It's been a year, and Milos Raonic still believes in the Sleeve.

Originally added after Raonic had a reaction to some creme he applied on his right arm – the reaction between those products and the sun, as any tennis player will tell you, is harsh and immediate – the 24-year-old Canadian quickly got comfortable with it.

And then, it became part of the arsenal, long after the original skin irritation cleared up.

Raonic has said he believes it helps keeps his arm warm – and since his big serve is his big money-maker, if he believes it, that's a good enough reason to keep wearing it. Even though the tan lines must be both hilarious and horrendous.

At Indian Wells a few weeks ago, a reporter asked Raonic about the upcoming anniversary. Props to Ben Rothenberg, who writes for the New York Times, for broaching the subject.

Raonic had the perfect answer.

The sleeve has spawned its own Twitter accounts, no surprise. This one. And this one. And this one. And this one. And its own hashtag: #believeinthesleeve

Raonic said in Miami that it's not a superstition.

The original blue sleeve, which was starting to look the worse for wear after a few too many washings, isn't officially dead, but Raonic said in Australia that he had left it behind. It hasn't been seen since.

Save for a few experiments with more colourful options (see the slideshow above), he has basically stuck to plain colours. The last time we asked, he hadn't been approached by any compression-sleeve maker for an endorsement. So somebody's missing the boat.

Raonic would have to choose a pretty neutral tennis kit, though, not to overwhelm the eye with options like these.

But who knows what the next chapter in the sleeve saga will bring?