The ‘tenniscore’ aesthetic is set to serve this summer thanks to its big screen moment in the Challengers film. As a summer of sport takes over with Wimbledon having just passed, the Olympics underway, and the US Tennis Open still set to come, the tenniscore revival speaks to new fashion attitudes.
From tennis skirts to polo shirts, ‘tenniscore’ is having a moment.
Tennis, and all the luxury, preppy fashion that comes with it, isn’t new to culture – see Gwyneth Paltrow’s Royal Tenenbaums-inspired La Coste collab from 2022 – but we’re on the cusp of another summer of pleats.
Zendaya starring in the film Challengers added a sexy spin to the sport with a steamy love triangle, which has brought tennis into new corners of culture by merging the sport’s aesthetic with conversations around the queer community and polyamory.
Tenniscore may have once existed as an extension of the ‘clean girl aesthetic’, but it’s now garnering cultural cachet with a more widespread and diverse audience.
People didn't necessarily go to see the film to celebrate the summer of sport we’re currently experiencing, rather it piqued their interest as the tennis seen on-screen felt more like a vehicle being used for a budding love story.
Tenniscore is leaving the realm of the sporty and preppy chic, trickling into cultural corners of society that might be newer to this sporty aesthetic.
Further solidifying the connection between fashion and film, Zendaya’s long-term stylist Law Roach used the Challengers press tour as a tennis-themed runway, with the actress wearing everything from a Thom Browne dress embroidered with rackets to literal tennis-ball heels.
The outfits were as literal as they were inspiring, bringing together the worlds of fashion, sport and film, with audiences genuinely excited to see what came next.
This trend is one of the few internet sensations to take off that’s having a real-world impact as the All England Lawn Tennis Club enjoyed a 54% year-on-year merchandise sales boost thanks to Wimbledon fever and all things tenniscore, and resale site StockX reported that trades of tennis shoes are up 35% year on year.
"The rise of tennis celebrities like Coco Gauf and influencers like Morgan Riddle are contributing to the growing popularity of tennis culture, where we see tennis skirts, polos, and pleats move from the court to the streets," entertainment reporter Roberts Rassi told Cosmopolitan.
That would explain why Google searches for ‘tenniscore’ have increased by 286% globally in the 30 days leading up to July, with many fashion adopters donning tennis-inspired outfits without actually having to take part in the sport itself.
As athletic aesthetics give people an easy entryway into embodying the tennis lifestyle, and with the fanbase of this trend becoming steadily more diverse, off-court tenniscore styles show that tennis mania is no longer strictly reserved for sporty types.
