Zendaya Traded the Tennis References for a Lingerie-Inspired Bodice for Challengers L.A. Premiere — See Photos

But fret not because she had an ace up her sleeve for later.
Zendaya attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon MGM Studios Challengers at Westwood Village Theater on April 16 2024...
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We love themed dressing, and Zendaya has been serving (pun intended) some of the best tennis-centric looks ever while promoting her new movie Challengers. (Do the words "Bejeweled tennis knit skirt" mean anything to you?) However, for the Los Angeles premiere of the forthcoming film, Zendaya ditched the tennis references altogether in favor of a lingerie-inspired ballgown.

Zendaya has been wearing a ton of green and white during the Challengers red carpets and photo calls, but for the L.A. premiere of Challengers, she brought the romance in a black and pale pink custom Vera Wang gown with an enormous sweeping skirt and corseted bodice with lace detailing at the cups and midriff.

Zendaya attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon MGM Studios Challengers at Westwood Village Theater on April 16 2024...
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Zendaya at the Los Angeles premiere of Challengers held at Regency Village Theatre on April 16 2024 in Los Angeles...
Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

Zendaya's skirt featured big panels of light pink with black tulle in the center and a long, sweeping train billowed out behind her. The black corseted waist was highly structured, cut with pops of see-through lace, and hung from skinny spaghetti straps. On top, it's full boudoir, and on the bottom, it's like a Disney princess arriving at the ball to enchant the prince — and it's totally unexpected from what we've seen from Zendaya and her stylist Law Roach so far!

Zendaya attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon MGM Studios Challengers at Westwood Village Theater on April 16 2024...
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin
Zendaya arrives at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios Challengers at Westwood Village Theater on April 16...
Steve Granitz

The tennis theme was back for the afterparty, with Zendaya changing into a slinky tennis ball green Celia Kritharioti halter gown with a tennis ball detail at the bodice. (Yes, that's a teeny tennis ball right at the base of the neckline!)

Zendaya attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Amazon MGM Studios' Challengers After Party at Funke on April 16 2024 in Los...
Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images

Both Roach and Zendaya even poked a little fun at their method dressing on Instagram Stories, sharing a photoshopped pic of Z wearing a glamorous take on an actual tennis ball on the Met Gala red carpet.

Photoshopped picture of Zendaya wearing a glamorous take on an actual tennis ball on the Met Gala red carpet.
Courtesy of Zendaya/Instagram @zendaya

Jokes aside, the 2024 Met Gala is only a few weeks away, and Zendaya is set to co-host the event, so can we expect more couture athleticwear, or will this dynamic duo surprise us once again? We're betting on the latter.