Actress Zendaya Shares Why She Admires This Iconic Athlete

The Golden Globe winner stars in the forthcoming film, ‘Challengers.’

Zendaya / Harrison Hill-USA TODAY via Imagn

Euphoria star Zendaya embodied one of spring’s hottest trends (three-dimensional florals) on the cover of Vogue’s new May issue. The stunning photograph, captured by Annie Leibovitz, was posted to the magazine’s Instagram account on April 9, the same day the accompanying cover story was released.

In the interview, the 27-year-old actress talked about everything from her work to her future plans, including the possibility of starting a family. Zendaya also touched on her new film, Challengers, which blends romance, drama and sports. The tennis-themed movie hits theaters on April 26, and naturally, the discussion led to 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams.

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“The story, the amount of pressure, the microscope that they were under, the loneliness they must have felt—because it’s already lonely to be a tennis player, but to be a Black female tennis player, I can’t imagine,” Zendaya stated of the 42-year-old athlete and her sister, fellow tennis phenomenon Venus Williams, 43. “Like, we’re going to put you in a very stressful, anxiety-inducing situation where you have to compete and there are millions of people watching, and you have to win…and be nice about it.”

Later in the interview, Zendaya and the mom of two connected via Zoom for a brief chat. Read the full interview here.

The day after the article hit the internet, the Dune star shared the cover to her own Instagram account. “Incredibly grateful for this special moment, can’t believe it’s actually happened. And thank you @serenawilliams for chatting with me, I appreciate you so much,” she wrote in her caption.