Here's how to nail the tennis aesthetic in your styling

WORDS Cassandra Dimitroff PHOTOGRAPHY courtesy of Launchmetrics PUBLISHED Wed, 20 Mar 2024 - 3:05 pm

In the lead up to the release of Luca Guadagnino's steamy tennis-inspired romance Challengers, we're channelling our inner Zendaya with sporty looks to serve in off the court.

While a host of sporting trends have permeated trend cycles of late – from football jerseys to biker shorts – tennis is one of the latest to make itself known on runways. Runways in 2024 were perfumed with a plethora of luxury fashion brands sending court-ready tennis-inspired outfits down the runway – from Miu Miu to Mains. Menswear label YONY took over Manhattan’s elite tennis club, Town Tennis, for their SS24 ready-to-wear show at NYFW, and Paul Costelloe opened London Fashion Week with tennis-themed attire for his SS24 runway. But it's not the first time we've seen tennis at the fore of fashion – and no, we aren't just referencing Chanel's iconic SS08 tennis rackets and Jean Paul Gaultier's tennis-court themed runway for Hermes SS10.

Tennis has enjoyed a long and intimate relationship with fashion – both on and off the court – since it's conception some time around the 16th century. It's a game that's evolved in the centuries since beyond being simply just a sport, becoming something more akin to a sub-culture, complete with its own lingo, lore, celebrities and fashion aesthetics (hello tennis skirts).

On the court, sartorial conversation is often sparked by what championship players are donning – like the Williams sisters' refusal to play by strict dress codes (who could forget Serena's defiant black tutu at the 2018 US Open). Off the court, the conversation is being continued in films – like Emerald Fennell's enviable black-tie tennis scene in Saltburn or Guadagnino's Challengers.

So if you're looking to get into the tennis-inspired fashion trend while it's hot, see the RUSSH team's favourite fashion serves below.