Zendaya – a sporty person? In childhood, the star of "Spider-Man" and "Dune" played "soccer" and basketball
Perhaps her athletic childhood made Zendaya arguably the main actress of her generation, writes sports.ru.
Photo: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images
Footage of a young Zendaya playing football has gone viral online. Almost all of them came with current labels indicating that it's not AI — the footage shows the real Zendaya and her childhood photos from her native Oakland, California, where she played for the local Rockridge Soccer Club team. In the comments, fans even found similarities between Zendaya and Neymar.
Telegram channel "Cultural Code"
Currently, Zendaya the actress is arguably having the best time in her career.
Zendaya can confidently count the 2025/2026 film season as a success. Firstly, the third season of "Euphoria" was released, where the actress returned to the role of Rue Bennett, which made her widely known to the public. Secondly, a work with Robert Pattinson, "This is Drama!", a new "Spider-Man" with Zendaya's fiancé Tom Holland, and Christopher Nolan's "Odyssey," where the girl plays Athena, were released. And a third part of "Dune" is also in the pipeline.
Still from "Odyssey"
Zendaya also sings (she has several recorded singles and an album) and is strong in voice acting for animated films.
Yes, a few years ago she lent her voice to Lola Bunny in the new "Space Jam" with LeBron, and next year another "Shrek" with her participation will be released. And this is clearly not the end.
Still from the film "Space Jam"
The actress is only 29 years old, and she already has an "Emmy" and a "Golden Globe" in her arsenal.
It is quite possible that sports, specifically "soccer" (as "our" football is called in the USA), allowed Zendaya to believe in herself, develop her acting career, and not stop professionally. Because all of this might not have happened.
Zendaya started playing sports thanks to her gym teacher father. Her parents feared the girl had autism
"I went to kindergarten prep twice because I was very shy," Zendaya once said in one of her interviews.
In fact, the decision to leave their daughter for a second year was made by her teacher-parents at the local school: mother Claire and father Kazembe Ajamu. The girl's parents saw that she didn't interact with anyone and was reluctant to make contact at kindergarten. At one point, they even began to suspect their child had autism and attended seminars for parents of children with similar conditions. However, the diagnosis was not confirmed.
Zendaya with her parents
Zendaya's father, who worked as a gym teacher at the school, decided that sports would help the girl socialize better, and began involving her in team sports, primarily basketball, which he and Claire were huge fans of.
Telegram channel "Cultural Code"
Kazembe first played with his daughter himself, and later sent the girl to play basketball through the Amateur Athletic Union.
This is the largest American non-profit amateur and youth sports organization, founded in 1888. Through it, as participants in youth and school competitions, especially in basketball, track and field, and swimming, virtually all great American athletes of recent decades have passed, including Jordan, Kobe, and LeBron himself.
Choosing "soccer" was also Zendaya's father's decision. This way he trained his daughter's endurance so that she could become the first woman in the NBA
Unlike basketball with short sprints, football requires almost continuous running across a large field, which perfectly develops endurance. In addition, children's "soccer" has fewer harsh vertical jumps and less strain on the knees, which reduces the risk of injury for a growing child.
Therefore, as additional physical training, Kazembe chose European football for his daughter. Moreover, the girl also played in a team here, which meant she learned to find common ground with her peers.
Thus Zendaya began playing for the local football club "Rockridge Soccer Club".
Telegram channel "Cultural Code"
"My dad wanted me to be the first woman in the NBA," Zendaya later recounted.
Evidently, this explains Kazembe's obsession with his daughter playing sports. In addition to team sports, Zendaya also practiced running.
Experiments with sports socialization clearly benefited the girl. She indeed became more communicative and less introverted. But Zendaya was clearly not in a hurry to continue the sports dynasty.
This happened around the age of 6. At that time, the girl helped her mother, who worked part-time at the California Shakespeare Theater. There, Zendaya arranged chairs, sold tickets, and sometimes participated in theatrical productions as an extra. The stage so captivated the child that the girl began seriously taking up dancing and acting.
Her father, of course, was not thrilled that his daughter decided to quit sports, but he personally began driving the child to all castings and auditions, and later quit his job as a gym teacher to become the actress's first manager and her personal bodyguard in Hollywood.
Zendaya trains approximately 3-4 times a week, combining functional exercises and cardio. She does not aim to gain muscle mass, so instead of heavy weights, she performs bodyweight exercises and uses light resistance: Bulgarian split squats, planks, rows.
This format develops strength and endurance while maintaining mobility and plasticity, which are important during long shoots. For physically demanding roles, the program becomes more specialized. For "Dune" and other dynamic projects, the focus shifts to endurance, interval training, and working multiple muscle groups simultaneously.
And for "Challengers", Zendaya additionally trained to play tennis: she practiced running, coordination, and developing stroke power with tennis player Brad Gilbert.
Zendaya in "Challengers"
Dancing, which Zendaya has been doing since childhood, plays an important role in her fitness. Early in her career, Zendaya won the 16th season of "Dancing with the Stars". Now, during filming, she can arrange evening dance workouts lasting up to 1-2 hours — this is simultaneously cardio, coordination work, and a way to relax after a workday.
Stretching and Pilates elements help maintain flexibility, good posture, and control of movements, while hiking in the hills of Los Angeles gives the actress additional leg workout and supports endurance.
At the same time, Zendaya does not try to compensate for workouts with a strict diet. She has been a vegetarian since childhood, does not eat meat or fish, but does not adhere to strict restrictions and can allow herself sweets or her favorite spicy noodles. Sometimes she even skips breakfast if she doesn't feel hungry in the morning.
As a result, her approach is based not on extreme loads or diets, but on regular movement, dancing, and functional training, which help maintain a strong, enduring, and flexible body.
Zendaya's partner Tom Holland supports "Tottenham", and Zendaya?
Sports and specifically "soccer" in Zendaya's life are now linked through her "Spider-Man" partner. Tom Holland is a Londoner and a staunch fan of "Tottenham". He has repeatedly said that he dreams of seeing the "Spurs" win the championship, met with club star Son Heung-min and received a personalized jersey from him, and in 2021 admitted that he would like to see a "Tottenham" – "Brentford" pair in the Champions League final, a team his uncle supports.
Together, the couple also attends NBA games; specifically, Zendaya supports "Golden State".
Zendaya is also linked to European football through her "Dune" co-star Timothée Chalamet. In his childhood, he spent holidays near Saint-Étienne and has supported this club ever since. In one interview, he called "Saint-Étienne" the team he supports most in the world, and also recalled chasing the club's bus on his bike.
It is known that the actor played for "Manhattan Kickers" in his childhood and even crossed paths there with Joe Gomez from "Liverpool".
Perhaps Zendaya's entire career would not have unfolded so naturally if she hadn't played sports in her childhood.