Fans are in awe of Zendaya’s tennis-themed dress at Challengers premiere: ‘Fashion icon’

Zendaya’s next highly-anticipated film will be released on 26 April in the US

Fans are in awe of the green gown Zendaya wore to attend the premiere of her new movie, Challengers, in Sydney, Australia.

On 26 March, the 27-year-old actor walked the red carpet at the event alongside her two co-stars in the film, Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor. For the occasion, she opted for a custom green, floor-length gown, designed by the creative director of LOEWE, Jonathan Anderson.

The glittering gown not only had a plunging neckline and a slit, but it also featured a reference to Challengers, in which Zendaya plays a successful tennis player who becomes a coach. The gown featured an embellished black print of a figure holding up a tennis racket, with the figure preparing to serve a gold and black ball.

The Euphoria star paired the outfit with a pair of matching green heels, green eyeshadow, and diamong earrings. She also had the opportunity to debut her blonde hair, which was styled in an updo. Following the event, Zendaya took to her Instagram Story to show a close up video of her dress, and tagged her signature stylist, Law Roach, in the post.

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On X, formerly known as Twitter, many fans have gone on to applaud Zendaya’s look, and the dress for how it pays homage to Challengers.

“The colour on her, her hair, the tennis player on her dress, the face card, Zendaya the fashion icon,” one wrote.

“THE TENNIS PLAYER ON HER DRESS OH ZENDAYA NO ONE DOES A PRESS TOUR QUITE LIKE YOU,” another added, while a third agreed: “THIS DRESS ON ZENDAYA.”

Many people also went on to applaud her longtime partnership with Roach, as one tweeted: “Tennis themed dress oh Law and Zendaya have done it again.”

“Oh the tennis player pattern on the dress???” another added. “Zendaya and Law Roach, you will always be famous!”

During a video of the premiere shared on X by a fan, the Disney Channel alum even made a quip about her iconic dress, while expressing her appreciation for everyone who worked on Challengers.

“When you create a character, it’s not just you. You’re an amalgamation of a bunch of people’s work... Whether that be hair, makeup, our incredible costume designer. Jonathan Anderson,” she said, while she pointed at her dress and refered to the outfit’s designer. “Yeah no, I came as a tennis court tonight. A bedazzled tennis court.”

In the movie – which comes out in the US on 26 April – Zendaya stars as a tennis coach for her husband, as he’s preparing for a match against her character’s former partner. The film was previously set to come out in September 2023, but the release date was pushed back due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, which didn’t end until November 2023.

Leading up to the release of her film, Zendaya has made her way to many tennis events. On 17 March, she and her boyfriend Tom Holland watched the finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. During the occasion, the couple was also seen mouthing the lyrics to Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody”.

Once the match was over, the Dune actor met with Poland’s Iga Swiatek after she defeated Greece’s Maria Sakkari. Following the game, Swiatek shared a photo of her and Zendaya on her Instagram Story, writing: “What just happened? Thank you @zendaya for being kind, funny and mindful.”