Zendaya Mar 10, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Zendaya at the 96th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 10, 2024. Mandatory Credit: Dan MacMedan-USA TODAY

Movie star Zendaya turned heads with boyfriend Tom Holland recently, but that wasn’t the only major news for the actress. She’s also still making waves in the tennis world after the success of her movie “Challengers.”

According to Gold Derby, Zendaya is now one of the favorites to win “Best Film Comedy/Musical Actress” in the upcoming Golden Globe ceremony. This is major news, and incredibly well deserved for the positive impact she’s had on popularizing the sport worldwide.

The Academy isn’t the only one taking note of Zendaya’s impact either. She told Entertainment Weekly that tennis players themselves are acknowledging her.

“I’ve had a couple tennis players say, ‘Thanks for making tennis sexy,’ or ‘making tennis cool,'” Zendaya said.

“And I was like, I feel like tennis has always been cool and sexy, but I’ll take it. A lot of people have tried to get into tennis now, so I think that’s fun.”

People were interested in these podcasts
Play Episode
67min
The Play-By-Play
Tom Brady's best broadcast, Bill Simmons and Spotify, Barstool departures
Tom Brady rose to the occasion during the Commanders-Lions game. Bill Simmons is reportedly likely sticking with Spotify. Amazon hires Kevin Harlan for their NBA coverage. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more, including "Bussin' With The Boys" leaving Barstool Sports on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-:36: Ohio State winning national championship-1:51: Commanders-Lions review, Tom Brady’s best(?) game so far-15:51: NFL broadcaster #1 booth power rankings-23:47: Bill Simmons likely renewing with Spotify-40:19: Bill Simmons subreddit-42:14: Amazon hiring Kevin Harlan as #2 NBA play-by-play-51:24: Hot Mics-51:41: “Bussin’ With The Boys” and Grace O’Malley leaving Barstool-58:16: Ohio State guiltYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Loving Dan Hurley, Shohei Ohtani 'Face of MLB,' Gen Z and sports
Dan Hurley rubs many the wrong way, so is that why he's great for college basketball? Is Shohei Ohtani the face of Major League Baseball. Are the lack of Cinderellas really what's destroying college basketball. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more, including an in-depth discussion with Morning Consult's Ellyn Briggs on how Gen Z consumes sports, on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-1:04: No Cinderellas in March Madness-21:11: Ellyn Briggs joins the show-21:39: Best way to summarize how Gen Z consumes sports-24:57: Gen Z having a strong connection to athletes, going to games-29:49: NIL and Gen Z-31:22: Sports going away from a made-for-TV product?-34:17: Gen Z and Gen-Alpha sports participation-37:13: Public reaction to Jackie Robinson article temporarily taken down-42:30: Women’s sports fans supporting activism among players-46:33: LIV Golf/Saudi Arabia and sportswashing-50:20: What has to happen for a new league to work in 2025?-54:48: Dan Hurley-57:48: Shohei Ohtani as the “Face of MLB”You can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Drew Brees on ESPN, Dave Portnoy feuds with Zach Bryan, Chris Vannini joins us
Drew Brees makes a surprise appearance on "Monday Night Countdown." Dave Portnoy drops multiple diss tracks on Country music star Zach Bryan. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more, as The Athletic's Chris Vannini joins us on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-:54: Drew Brees shows up on “Monday Night Countdown”-20:31: Chris Vannini comes on The Play-By-Play-58:46: Dave Portnoy vs. Zach Bryan-1:04:26: Sports podcast monologuesYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Play-By-Play
Super Bowl storylines, sportsbooks dialing back sponsored content
Two weeks of Super Bowl coverage is going to bring repeated talking points. Sports betting companies are cutting funding for sponsored content. Awful Announcing's Ben Axelrod and Brendon Kleen discuss these topics and more, including Deion Sanders and the Dallas Cowboys on the latest episode of The Play-By-Play.Time Stamps:-2:23: Super Bowl storylines you’re going to get tired of hearing-6:09: The Super Bowl storyline draft-32:22: Sports betting companies cutting back on sponsored content-47:59: Awful Announcing’s new newsletter/Deion Sanders and the Dallas Cowboys-51:52: ESPN appYou can subscribe to The Play-By-Play wherever podcasts are found. Please subscribe, rate and review!Download The Play-By-Play:Listen on AppleListen on SpotifyAwful Announcing on XAwful Announcing on FacebookAwful Announcing on InstagramAwful Announcing on ThreadsAwful Announcing on BlueSkyAwful Announcing on LinkedIn Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The players are right too. Fans haven’t been shy about the role Zendaya and Challengers have had in getting them interested in the sport.

I plan to get into Olympic tennis this summer as much as possible. Quite literally the Challengers effect tbh lol,” one fan said on Twitter after seeing the movie.

It’s clear Zendaya’s star power is leading to success for the sport, hopefully, she decides to bring light to more sports throughout her career.

[E Weekly]

About Qwame Skinner

Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. At Next Impulse, Qwame covers sports with the same enthusiasm he brings to his recreational basketball and softball leagues.