Mia Zelu is an AI-generated personality who has amassed more than 165,000 followers on Instagram. Photo / AI generated
Mia Zelu is an AI-generated personality who has amassed more than 165,000 followers on Instagram. Photo / AI generated
Influencer culture has been spilling into SW19 for years – but this Wimbledon saw its most surreal milestone yet.
Mia Zelu, an Instagram model, became the latest Centre Court sensation, racking up more than 165,000 Instagram followers with her high-gloss preppy content and sporty aesthetic.
She looked every inch thenext big thing in tennis-adjacent celebrity, except for one detail: she didn’t exist.
The blonde model, who appeared posing in pink two-piece sets on Centre Court and drinking Pimm’s post-match, was entirely AI-generated.
Presenting a hyper-realistic front, coupled with human-like feelings and thoughts expressed in her captions, Zelu fooled tennis fans into believing she was rubbing shoulders with guests at the All England Club earlier this month.
The model, who bills herself as a “digital storyteller” and “AI influencer”, captioned one picture: “Still not over the event … but the party’s a whole other game.”
She asked her thousands of followers, who often leave compliments and answers in her comment section: “Which Wimbledon match was your fave?”
Another post portrayed the tennis influencer watching a match on what appeared to be Centre Court, where A-listers rub shoulders with royalty every summer.
The AI-generated model presents a hyper-realistic front, coupled with human-like feelings and thoughts expressed in her captions. Photo / AI-generated
Influencers have been more prominent in SW19’s star-studded crowd in recent years, with glamorous tennis “WAG” Morgan Riddle taking centre-stage this month.
The partner of Taylor Fritz, the American professional, Riddle championed Wimbledon’s sporty chic aesthetic with viral posts across her social media platforms from the courtside.
The former model was profiled in Netflix’s Break Point series in 2023, in which she became known for her “tennis-core” chic. The New York Times later dubbed her “the most famous woman in men’s tennis”.
Morgan Riddle, partner of Taylor Fritz, the American tennis pro, is a real person. Photo / Getty Images
It seems Zelu, whose creator remains unknown, may be aiming to capitalise on the same trend with her picture-perfect, elegant outfits and flowing blonde hair.
Despite disclosing the use of AI in her bio, the model was inundated with admirers who took to the platform commenting “will you marry me” and “you look stunning”. She even has a brunette “sister” named Ana, who has amassed 266,000 followers on her own page.
In one post, appearing to be at the French Open, Zelu’s pictures on court were captioned, arguably misleadingly: “Pure sunshine and good vibes! Soaking up every bit of this energy … Which photo is your favourite?”
Generative AI in the entertainment industry
It comes after Netflix said it had used the controversial technology in one of its TV shows for the first time.
Ted Sarandos, the streaming giant’s co-chief executive, said visual effects were created by generative AI, which produces videos and images based on human-inputted prompts, in one of its original series.
It was used to create a scene of a building collapsing in The Eternaut, the Argentine science fiction show.
Sarandos said the technology had allowed the show’s production to finish the scenes at a lower cost and 10 times faster than if they had used traditional special effects tools.
Generative AI could be useful for productions with smaller budgets in the long term, but remains controversial in the entertainment world, however.
Politicians and creatives are fighting to protect artists’ copyright amid concerns that AI will create content using others’ work without their consent.
Some of Britain’s most prominent artists and musicians have demanded more protections in the last year. They include Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, Damon Albarn, Billy Ocean, The Clash, Cat Stevens and Hans Zimmer.
AI-generated content might prove more difficult to police within the sphere of social media.
Meta has introduced an opt-in label for the content, but there have long been fears that AI image tools could be used to create highly convincing “deepfakes” and images or videos that could help spread disinformation or influence elections.
While Zelu might not present an electoral threat, the fake model’s plausible captions and hyper-realistic images may have fooled even the most tech-savvy Wimbledon fans.
