What are we supposed to do with all this tenniscore? Play tennis? I don't think so

Since ‘Challengers’, tenniscore has cemented itself in fashion with Zendaya’s method dressing in brands like Loewe and Thom Browne during her press tour, and other brands like Skims launching tennis-inspired collections or Roger Federer’s brand On recently collaborating with BEAMS on a versatile shoe for the tennis court and beyond. Tennis fashion has changed a lot through the decades but be it through a Chanel tennis racquet or a white Lacoste shirt, prep fashion has had a perennial association with the lives of the privileged. Films often reflect this class battle best, like in ‘Palm Royale’ (2024), a new entrant to an old money society, Maxine Dellacorte has to admit on the tennis court that she barely knows the game. 

Over the years, tennis has moved away from merely being a sport in country clubs and elite backyards to diversifying access. Some brands have chosen to move away from normative white to louder and bolder designers, which takes tennis to the realm of streetwear. Lacoste entered Paris Fashion Week this March and one of their sweaters, although still on a base of white, had bold letters that proclaimed it was from a tennis championship along with a louder shade of green accompanied with blue stripes. A look from the spring/summer ‘24 collection for Dsquared2, features a cropped sweater over a tennis jersey titled Toronto Tennis Club, styled with jeans – clearly the tennis jersey is not the focus anymore, and has instead turned into the everyday wear, like a fan would wear a football jersey, which becomes a proclamation of fandom more than anything else.