Zendaya is starring in a tennis movie, Louis Vuitton is featuring tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a campaign, Highsnobiety is releasing a limited tennis capsule with Lacoste, and brands like On are getting into the game. Tennis is making a brilliant comeback!
Fashion loves catchy terms that encapsulate trends: we now say “Blokecore” for football-inspired outfits, “Balletcore” for spaghetti straps and delicate fabrics, “Gorpcore” for outdoor aesthetics and “Tenniscore” for polo shirts, plaits and pleated skirts. That everything is happening at the same time is characteristic of the current fashion world. But while fashion magazines declared tennis the new trend two years ago, it is only now that it seems to be taking off.
From Lululemon to Urban Outfitters, from Louis Vuitton to Miu Miu – tennis is a major inspiration for new collections and campaigns everywhere. Even Hollywood is getting into the act with the film Challengers, starring US megastar Zendaya as a tennis coach to two pros. The film and its tennis scenes are sponsored not by Nike or Adidas but by luxury fashion brands Loewe and Longchamp. The US star has since appeared in a number of media-effective tennis-themed outfits, such as stilettos with heels that look like they are impaling tennis balls.
The film was originally due for release in 2023 but had to be postponed for a year over the Hollywood strike. No matter. The trend seems here to stay. It was all over the latest Pitti Uomo in Florence, where the Italian team-sports specialist Macron incorporated tennis into its looks, as did KNT by Kiton, in its retro luxurious sports line, and Casheart, in its cashmere.
Tennis and sport inspire fashion like never before
Professional sport is more interesting to the fashion industry than it has been for a long time. This is evidenced by, for instance, LVMH’s landmark sponsorship deal, worth around €150 million, for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Business of Fashion writes that, as far as the fashion industry is concerned, sport is “more fertile territory than ever for luxury marketing.” And tennis is particularly attractive in this regard. Tennis and tennis tournaments like Wimbledon have always been associated with fashion. Tennis has always been a place where the rich and the beautiful meet. In addition, tennis professionals have often shown a flair for fashion, most notably René Lacoste, who founded the Lacoste fashion company after his successful tennis career and “made the polo shirt fashionable and desirable,” according to Sophie Lemahieu, curator of the exhibition Mode et sport, d’un podium à l’autre, running the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris until April.
There have been similar examples in other countries: Sergio Tacchini in Italy, Fred Perry in England and Björn Borg in Sweden (although Borg was only the namesake, the name obviously had enough appeal for a fashion label).
Tennis has also always been elitist. The color white, which is still compulsory at many tournaments despite all attempts at individualization, has always been a provocation for those who have to do their own tennis laundry. This elitist lifestyle still clings to the sport and continues to capture the imagination of fashion designers, even as many tennis federations strive for greater “inclusivity.” The elitist lifestyle, intertwined with the “old money aesthetic,” has received many millions of views on social media under the hashtag #tenniscore.
Tennis: A catalyst for equality
But tennis can also tell another story – one of emancipation, confidence and equality. Last summer, Adidas launched a collection called Celebrating 50 Years Since the Moment That Changed Women’s Tennis. It was a tribute to former US tennis player Billie Jean King, the first professional athlete to come out as a lesbian. One of her main causes was equal rights for women and men in sports.
The rebelliousness that Adidas is celebrating today has a long tradition in tennis. Back in the 1920s, tennis player Suzanne Lenglen raised eyebrows with her short skirts and sleeveless tops. In 1931, Spanish tennis player Lilí Álvarez made a fashion and sporting statement on the court with a trouser skirt designed by Elsa Schiaparelli. And Serena Williams, with her unforgettable black catsuit or tutu, has also pushed the boundaries of court decorum. Ultimately, it is to the credit of sport in general that it has helped to replace restrictive clothing with comfortable clothes that allow both literal and symbolic freedom of movement.
Many collaborations between tennis and fashion
While Lacoste is currently collaborating with Highsnobiety and returned to the official calendar of Paris Fashion Week in March 2024 with a catwalk show on the main square of the French Open stadium Roland-Garros, many fashion brands have begun fishing in the tennis pond as well. Luxury fashion label Miu Miu, for example, is launching the Miu Miu Tennis Club in Saint Tropez for “the leisure activities of selected guests,” fashion brand Veronica Beard and sports brand L’Etoile Sport are launching a tennis capsule, and Polo Ralph Lauren celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Centre Court at Wimbledon and 17 years as the official outfitter with a special clothing collection for men and women and a digital outfit on the online gaming platform Roblox.
The interplay between fashion and sport makes sense for both sides, says curator Lemahieu: “Sport brings positive values to fashion, such as fair play, team spirit, endurance. And fashion brings savoir-vivre to sport.” Louis Vuitton also sees it that way and is pairing tennis rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for a campaign about hiking in the Dolomites. “At an altitude of 3,000 meters, far from the familiarity of the tennis court, Nadal and Federer are not seen as competitors, but as companions on a shared ascent – a visual metaphor for their careers, which are characterized by deep mutual respect and friendship, with them repeatedly overcoming the obstacles that lie ahead,” writes the brand.
But it is by no means only the luxury market that is taking inspiration from tennis. Streetwear, with its love of contrasts, is playing with classic tennis insignia. Hence, the house logo on the new tennis balls from cult streetwear brand Supreme.
Sports brands benefit from tennis’s comeback
But what does it mean for traditional tennis brands when fashion brands discover tennis for themselves? “We are definitely benefiting from the trend,” says Roman Stepek, Global Vice President of Global at Head Sportswear. “Tennis apparel and retro tennis are experiencing a revival. Not yet on a broad scale, but in the top stores.” Head is now selling its tennis collections for the first time at Selfridges in London and Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. The big retailers are picking up on the trend. Other sports brands also see tennis as a good source of additional business and are expanding their collections.
Leading the way is Swiss shoe brand On Running, which launched its first tennis collection in spring 2024. The move was not entirely surprising: former tennis pro Federer took a 3 percent stake in On in 2019, and has already launched a streetwear sneaker, The Roger, with the brand. The Roger Clubhouse Pro model will be the first proper tennis shoe and will go along with a clothing line for men, women and children.
Also at Lacoste, #tenniscore seems to be reflected in the sales figures: having passed the €2.5 billion mark in 2022, Lacoste’s sales grew at a double-digit rate last year despite a slowing fashion market.
Tennis grows as a sport
Tennis seems to be more than just a passing fad. Tennis is one of the top ten most popular sports in many countries. While the number of active players has trended down over the past decade, it has trended up in recent years. Many credit the pandemic. “Tennis experienced a revival during the pandemic because tennis courts were the first to be opened – even before soccer fields. In tennis, you play far apart, so you can keep your distance more than in other sports,” says Stepek of Head. In the US – the world’s largest tennis market, with 23.8 million active players in 2023 – tennis is the fifth fastest-growing of the 100 sports tracked by Sporting Insights. According to the US Tennis Sport Association, the number of tennis players has grown by 34 percent since 2019. In Europe, too, the number of tennis players has increased by 4.6 percent, according to the European tennis association Tennis Europe, and there are more tennis clubs than ever before. However, classic tennis is not the only racquet sport to experience a surge in participation during the pandemic.
Pickleball in the US and paddle tennis in Europe show enormous growth rates. According to the McKinsey’s Sporting Goods 2024 report, pickleball and paddle tennis grew by 159 percent between 2019 and 2022, making them the fastest-growing sports today.
