It doesn’t matter if you’re athletic or not: The tenniscore trend isn’t about hitting a neon ball in a straight line. It only cares whether or not you look like you own an off-shore bank account while doing it.
Hot off the premiere of Challengers, the Zendaya vehicle that’s doing for tennis (and threesomes) what Saltburn did for baths, the preppy, athletic aesthetic is the internet’s latest billionaire cosplay effort. It joins the slew of other niche trends that have become popular lately for offering proximity to a certain fashion look and lifestyle. (See also: coastal grandmother and stealth wealth.)
As is typical with on-court outfits, the tenniscore palette is understated silhouettes and colors: Whites, creams, yellows, greens, and blacks all look great against the hard green clay courts most associated with the sport. In the same vein, exercise dresses, pleated skirts, knit polos, and sporty visors are also in the mix. Pops of electric pink, high-vis yellow, and tennis-ball green, meanwhile, keep things interesting.
Tenniscore may rely on this rather simple manner of dressing, but the look really shines in its nods to quiet luxury—think gold watches with ruby bezels, sparkly court dresses, and unnecessarily expensive designer water bottles. While the aesthetic enjoyed a moment in 2022, Zendaya’s Challengers press tour looks have reignited the look in a big way—and added a high-fashion spin courtesy of Law Roach and labels like Loewe, Thom Browne, and Ralph Lauren.
Editor’s note: A version of this story was first published on August 4, 2022. We’re republishing it today in light of the Challengers premiere and the return of the tenniscore aesthetic.
Tennis, much like skiing and sailing, is a sport that’s historically associated with the 1 percent. This perhaps explains why tenniscore isn’t really focused on the athleticism but rather the privilege that comes along with a sport that includes pristine outfits, water served with miniature fruit cubes, and diamond bracelets. (The mob wife would like a word.) Name a hot bitch who doesn’t look like she plays tennis on the weekends.
While tennis has inspired the fashion world for quite some time now, the ultra-luxe aesthetic has seen a renewed interest over the past few months and is one of many glam-centric styles that’ve cropped up in the middle of our current economic tailspin. Amid a tumultuous economy, it seems natural that people would want to project wealth in their style. (Fake it until you make it and everything.)
But as we said, tennis-inspired fashion is not a new concept. The sport (and, in turn, its style) was reserved for the upper echelons of society at the turn of the 20th century—only becoming more democratic in nature as female athletes got widespread media attention. Billie Jean King famously played against Bobby Riggs in a match dubbed The Battle of the Sexes while wearing hoop earrings and a white minidress. The term tennis bracelet was popularized after Chris Evert’s diamond band broke mid-match during the 1987 U.S. Open. She stopped the game to look for the jewels, a move that is so tenniscore at its, well, core.
