The World's First Global Sporting Celebrity

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As the rain lashed down in the first week of this year's French Open championship, it wasn't long before tennis fans got a look at the brand-new roof on Stade Roland Garros' Court Suzanne-Lenglen, the tournament's second biggest stadium. Featuring canvas fabric that unfolds slowly across the court like a concertina, the structure has some unusual architectural inspiration – the famous pleated skirts once worn by the court's namesake.

Talking about the design, architect Dominique Perrault explained : "I wanted to pay tribute to tennis, but also tennis during the Suzanne Lenglen era… and the fashion of that time."

Today, many spectators seated under the roof might know little about the player who inspired it other than her name – yet a century ago, Lenglen was not only the most celebrated tennis player in the world, but one of the most famous women, too. An icon of the Jazz Age who brought a radical new style to tennis, both on and off the court, she changed sport – and fashion – forever.

Lenglen was the first tennis World Number one, winning eight Grand Slam singles titles (Credit: Getty Images)

Tennis and fashion have long had a close relationship, and tennis style is in the spotlight again – helped by Luca Guadagnino's film Challengers , which had Loewe creative director Jonathan Anderson as costume designer, and its star Zendaya wore a succession of tennis-inspired looks for her promotional tour. The #tenniscore aesthetic is all over TikTok, and fashion houses are snapping up players to front their campaigns.

Former on-court rivals Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal appear together in a new Louis Vuitton advert. Italian player and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner is a brand ambassador for Gucci. Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz – who beat Novak Djokovic in last year's thrilling Wimbledon final – has appeared in Calvin Klein and Louis Vuitton campaigns. British star Emma Raducanu has a contract with Dior, while Coco Gauff graced the cover of US Vogue this year. But no player did more to grow the relationship between tennis and fashion than France's Suzanne Lenglen.