{"id":87917,"date":"2025-08-22T16:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/87917\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T16:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T16:37:11","slug":"why-the-fashion-world-is-betting-big-on-tennis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/87917\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Fashion World Is Betting Big on Tennis"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s impossible to watch a tennis match today without noticing the style on the court. Think Serena Williams\u2019s all-black Nike catsuit\u2014or, frankly, any look she\u2019s ever worn\u2014Naomi Osaka\u2019s Brat-inspired matching set<\/a> complete with an oversized bow at the US Open last year, or even Roger Federer\u2019s tailored waistcoat and military-inspired jacket at Wimbledon in 2009. These moments, among others, signified a major turning point as fashion began to cement its place in the sport. <\/p>\n

\"2018Aurelien Meunier\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Serena Williams at the 2018 French Open. <\/p>\n

Fashion and tennis have always been inexplicably linked, however, before the sport evolved into what it is today, it originated on grass courts and was formally adopted as lawn tennis. According to Time magazine, because of its co-ed nature, players of the sport often saw it as an opportunity to meet romantic partners, which called for sophisticated style over practicality. Men opted for blazers paired with trousers, whereas women frequently wore corseted dresses featuring floor-length skirts. Players were also restricted to all-white ensembles<\/a> as a method of concealing sweat stains, which in effect kept the sport mostly accessible to the upper class.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until tennis legend Charlotte \u2018Lottie\u2019 Dod won the 1887 Wimbledon title in a midi-length dress without a corset that the idea of functional sportswear started to gain traction, and by the turn of the century, tennis attire started changing altogether. In 1919, Suzanne Lenglen sparked controversy at Wimbledon for showing her bare arms and wearing a floppy hat. While on the men\u2019s side, Ren\u00e9 Lacoste\u2014who would go on to found his namesake label in 1933\u2014designed and introduced the now-iconic polo shirts, featuring short sleeves and an unstarched collar. <\/p>\n

In the late half of the 20th century, hemlines were shortened, players embraced wearing more color, and the Grand Slam tournaments moved away from the all-white rule with the exception of Wimbledon. We started to see players have a lot more fun with their fashion. Long before Serena Williams\u2019s history-making catsuit at the 2018 French Open, there was Anne White at Wimbledon in 1985, who was the first tennis player to sport a catsuit on the court.<\/p>\n

\"annegetty images\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Anne White playing at Wimbledon in 1985. <\/p>\n

The early 2000s saw a new wave of interest from brands looking to players for endorsements. Historically, sport-linked brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma started to claim a bigger stake in the sport. Today, we associate Serena Williams with Nike, but we can\u2019t forget about her first-ever endorsement deal with Puma back in 1998. On the men\u2019s side, there was Roger Federer who raked in several luxury endorsements including\u2014but not limited to\u2014Rolex and Mercedes Benz. <\/p>\n

Designer collaborations became more prevalent around this time, too. At the 2018 US Open, Serena Williams opened her first match in a black one-shoulder dress featuring a tutu skirt, <\/a>created by the late Virgil Abloh, former menswear Creative Director of Louis Vuitton and Off-White, for Nike. Designer Riccardo Tisci also teamed up with Nike and Swarovski to create a crystal-embellished little black dress for Maria Sharapova during the 2017 US Open. <\/p>\n

\"usTim Clayton\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"2017Abbie Parr\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Maria Sharapova at the 2017 US Open.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As the synergy between tennis and fashion grows, luxury brands have come to fully embrace the sport and its athletes\u2014including fashion houses that had never engaged with tennis before. Gucci scooped up recent Wimbledon champion and No. 1-ranked player in the world, Jannik Sinner, as their global brand ambassador. Louis Vuitton enlisted Carlos Alcaraz\u2014winner of Wimbledon 2023 and the US Open 2022\u2014as their House Ambassador. Burberry claimed its very own British talent, Jack Draper, as its global face. And just last month, Bottega Veneta announced Italian tennis player Lorenzo Musetti as the latest celebrity representative of the brand. <\/p>\n

While there\u2019s still room for growth on the women\u2019s side, there are certainly notable partnerships worth mentioning, including Miu Miu and New Balance\u2019s continued collaboration with Coco Gauff, and Tag Heuer enlisting Naomi Osaka as their brand ambassador. <\/p>\n

Between the increased cultural visibility and shift in demographics over the years of the sport, it makes sense why high fashion brands would want a piece of the pie. Tennis is more culturally relevant than ever, thanks in large part to the hit 2024 film Challengers starring Zendaya, Josh O\u2019Connor, and Mike Faist. From Zendaya\u2019s tennis-inspired press tour looks<\/a> to JW Anderson\u2019s costume design<\/a>, the film cemented fashion\u2019s role in the sport, all while drawing major brands deeper into the conversation. <\/p>\n

\"challengersMGM \/ Warner Bros<\/p>\n

Mike Faist and Zendaya in Challengers.<\/p>\n

Public interest in tennis has grown over the years, fueled by increased media coverage, social media influencers, and the rising popularity of tennis stars. While the \u201ctenniscore\u201d trend may have peaked in popularity last summer, its impact on consumers has not waned. Tennis-centric style has become more popular than ever, with fans and patrons of the sport investing just as much effort into their outfits as they do into the game itself. From white shirtdresses to V-neck polos and pleated miniskirts, people everywhere are taking style cues from tastemakers, celebrities, and athletes on the court. <\/p>\n

No conversation about tennis style icons would be complete without mentioning the tennis WAGs<\/a> themselves\u2014famously known as the wives and girlfriends of athletes. Tournament regulars such as Morgan Riddle and Paige Lorenze have emerged as key style influencers on the tennis circuit, consistently sporting tennis-themed looks and landing brand deals from luxury fashion brands, including Burberry, Thom Browne, and Tod\u2019s, among others.<\/p>\n

Shop the latest tennis luxury pieces:\"Tennis<\/a>\"Striped<\/a>Tory Burch Striped Tennis Tote\"Mini<\/a>Miu Miu Mini Pleated Polo Dress\"Short-Sleeve<\/a>Miu Miu Short-Sleeve Pleated Polo Dress\"Tennis<\/a>Gucci X HEAD Tennis Racket\"Tennis<\/a>Saint Laurent x Wilson Tennis Ball \"Crest<\/a>Polo Ralph Lauren Crest Silk Scarf\"Suzanne<\/a>Louis Vuitton Suzanne Racket Pouch\"Small<\/a>Coach Small Tennis Racket Bag Charm\"Cloudtilt<\/a>Loewe x On Cloudtilt Sneakers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s impossible to watch a tennis match today without noticing the style on the court. Think Serena Williams\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87918,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,2386,65628,28031,433,2387,65627,85,747],"class_list":["post-87917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-content-type-feature","tag-contentid-2583d545-d8e2-4455-872e-97e1d2d2c8e8","tag-displaytype-long-form-article","tag-hasproduct-true","tag-locale-us","tag-shorttitle-how-tennis-is-becoming-high-fashion","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}