{"id":113483,"date":"2026-07-14T07:30:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T07:30:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=113483"},"modified":"2026-07-09T07:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T07:07:10","slug":"zendayas-iconic-tennis-ball-heels-have-sparked-a-full-blown-trend-at-wimbledon-2026-25497","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/zendayas-iconic-tennis-ball-heels-have-sparked-a-full-blown-trend-at-wimbledon-2026-25497\/","title":{"rendered":"Zendaya’s Iconic Tennis Ball Heels Have Sparked a Full-Blown Trend at Wimbledon 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Zendaya's
Zendaya’s Iconic Tennis Ball Heels Have Sparked a Full-Blown Trend at Wimbledon 2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You have probably noticed it scrolling through your feed this week: tiny green tennis balls perched on the back of pristine white stilettos. It looks playful, maybe even a little absurd, and yet it keeps popping up everywhere. What started as a single red-carpet shoe moment two years ago has quietly snowballed into a courtside style phenomenon. And if you assumed it was just a celebrity one-off, Wimbledon 2026 is here to prove you wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

How one pair of custom pumps rewrote the courtside dress code<\/b><\/h2>\n

The origin story traces back to April 2024 and the press tour for the film<\/a><\/strong> Challengers. Zendaya appeared at a photo call at Hotel Hassler in Rome wearing custom Loewe tennis ball pumps. The shoes followed a classic pump silhouette in white with a sharp pointed toe, but the detail that stopped everyone mid-scroll was on the heel: each stiletto incorporated a vibrant green mini tennis ball, a nod to her role as a tennis player in the sultry sports film.<\/span><\/p>\n

It was cheeky, it was perfectly on theme, and it lodged itself firmly in the collective fashion memory. Method dressing – the practice of wearing outfits that reference the character or project you are promoting – is nothing new in Hollywood. But Zendaya’s execution was so precise, so visually sticky, that it transcended the press tour entirely. Could a single pair of heels really launch a multi-year trend at the most tradition-bound tournament in tennis?<\/span><\/p>\n

The answer came faster than anyone expected. Influencer Aki Curtis attended the men’s semifinals at The Championships at Wimbledon in London on July 12, 2024, wearing a DIY pair of Aquazzura tennis ball shoes created by her husband. Curtis explained to FN by email that Zendaya had inspired her husband to transform a minimalist white Aquazzura Nuda sandal into a match-ready design in just under five minutes. The result caught everyone’s eye at the event and proved the concept could travel well beyond a celebrity stylist’s mood board.<\/span><\/p>\n

From dusty storage shelf to viral sensation<\/b><\/h2>\n

The backstory of Curtis’s shoes adds a satisfying layer. She told FN that before she was invited to Wimbledon, those white heels had been sitting in storage for years, collecting dust. She had been planning to buy a new pair of block heels that could sustain long-hour wear when Zendaya’s custom Loewe tennis ball heels from the Challengers press tour came to mind. What followed was a quick upcycling session and a pair of heels now filled with great memories from London, as Curtis described them.<\/span><\/p>\n

The shoe moment went viral again this week when Curtis shared flashback videos on Instagram Reels showing the behind-the-scenes process of making the shoes, along with reactions from fellow spectators at the event. The timing was perfect: Wimbledon 2026 had just kicked off on Monday, and the algorithm did the rest. Suddenly the tennis ball heel was not a throwback curiosity – it was a live trend with fresh momentum.<\/span><\/p>\n

And fresh faces were ready to carry it forward. TV personality Maura Higgins showed up on the first day of Wimbledon at the Evian Mountain of Youth VIP Suite wearing white Flor De Maria Jaimie slingback high heels that her styling team had transformed into tennis-themed shoes. Similarly to Curtis and Zendaya, Higgins wore the shoes with two added tennis balls placed on the pointed-toe pumps’ stiletto heels. Styled by Kris Fe, the reality star paired them with an all-white dress and a white bow in her hair, leaning fully into the Wimbledon palette.<\/span><\/p>\n

Designer options for those who prefer to skip the craft project<\/b><\/h2>\n

Not everyone is reaching for the glue gun. Other spectators at the 2026 tournament skipped the DIY process altogether and went for designer heels instead. One attendee was spotted wearing Manolo Blahnik’s white pointed-toe tennis-themed slingbacks, finished with a dainty bow and tiny tennis balls on the vamp. It is a polished, ready-to-wear take on the same idea, and it signals that the trend has matured enough for luxury houses to formalize it.<\/span><\/p>\n

What makes this particular movement so appealing is its flexibility. You can invest in a high-end slingback or rescue an old pair of white sandals from the back of your closet and transform them in under five minutes. The common thread is simple: a white heel, a flash of neon green, and a wink at the sport unfolding on the grass courts just a few feet away. Spectators at Wimbledon 2026 are fully taking a page out of Zendaya’s book, indulging in method dressing for the sporting event.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2026 edition of the tournament concludes on July 12, with Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Poland’s Iga Swiatek competing to defend the men’s and women’s singles titles. Tennis stars like Osaka, Coco Gauff, and Frances Tiafoe will also compete, keeping all eyes on the grounds for the next two weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

The takeaway worth lacing up<\/b><\/h2>\n

Two years ago, Zendaya wore a pair of playful custom pumps to promote a movie<\/a><\/strong>, and nobody could have predicted that the look would still be gaining speed in 2026. What we are seeing now is proof that the most enduring trends often start with one clever, specific detail rather than an entire outfit overhaul. You do not need a stylist or a designer budget – just a white heel, a tennis ball, and about five minutes of creativity. The court, it turns out, is not just for the athletes anymore.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42690,"featured_media":113484,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[17],"yoast_head":"\nZendaya's Iconic Tennis Ball Heels Have Sparked a Full-Blown Trend at Wimbledon 2026 - Grazia USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/zendayas-iconic-tennis-ball-heels-have-sparked-a-full-blown-trend-at-wimbledon-2026-25497\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Zendaya's Iconic Tennis Ball Heels Have Sparked a Full-Blown Trend at Wimbledon 2026\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"You have probably noticed it scrolling through your feed this week: tiny green tennis balls perched on the back of pristine white stilettos. 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