Nike Sends the Air Tech Challenge 2 "Back to the Future" for the 2026 US Open
The Mag-inspired makeover lands on a silhouette rooted in Andre Agassi and early ’90s tennis noise.
Name: Nike Air Tech Challenge 2 “Back to the Future” Mag
Colorway: Photon Dust/Dusty Cactus-Picante Red-White
SKU: IX4084-025
MSRP: $170 USD
Release Date: September 4
Where to Buy: Nike
Nike is bringing the Air Tech Challenge 2 into a Back to the Future storyline for the 2026 US Open, reworking the retro tennis model in the grey-and-blue palette of Marty McFly’s Nike Mag. The result folds one of the brand’s most enduring pop-culture references onto a court silhouette with real history behind it.
Photon Dust covers most of the upper, joined by White, Dusty Cactus, Picante Red, Sundial and Blue Tint accents that keep the look layered rather than flat. Speckled sections run along the sides to strengthen the Mag connection, while blue Nike branding on the heel pulls directly from the futuristic pair worn in the film. It is a restrained way to channel a famously loud reference, letting the color story do the talking without leaning on gimmicks.
The Mag theme is not new territory for Nike. The brand recently ran a similar treatment on the Nike Vapor 12 Hypersmash “Mag” tennis shoe, and this Air Tech Challenge 2 carries a comparable color story. What sets it apart is the canvas. The Air Tech Challenge 2 is tied closely to Andre Agassi and the louder side of early ’90s tennis footwear, a period when on-court style was as much a statement as the game itself. Dropping a Back to the Future concept onto that lineage links two very different eras of Nike bravado, one cinematic and one competitive.
That pairing gives the release more weight than a straightforward theme shoe. The Mag remains one of Nike’s most mythologized designs, and the Air Tech Challenge 2 remains one of its most recognizable tennis models. Bringing them together for the sport’s biggest American stage gives the collaboration of ideas a fitting moment to arrive.
