Tennis Apparel, Clothing And Attire

It’s interesting to trace the roots of tennis clothes, apparel and attire to see how they evolved over the past years.

The kind of tennis apparel we know today is far from the formal attire worn by players during the early Wimbledon days.Social changes have shaped the trends in tennis clothes for over 100 years.

Men’s Tennis Apparel

Shirts, long flannel pants, sweater vests and shirts, these were the earliest tennis clothes for men.Male tennis players changed their tennis outfits from flannel pants into shorts in the 1930s.

Henry "Bunny" Austin, a British tennis player, is known to be the first top tennis player to wear white shorts in a tennis match.

Since then, the fashion in terms of men´s tennis apparel included white pants and shorts.White shorts and pants were replaced by brightly colored lycra shorts.

Later, men’s tennis clothes started to keep pace with the boldness of modern tennis attire for women.Nowadays male tennis players wear sport capri pants and tight-fitting lycra tops.

Women’s Tennis Apparel

Women´s tennis apparel history is quite similar to that of men.They started to join tennis games in the 1860s.

In the beginning womens tennis clothes were modest and included clothing made of heavy materials such as flannel or serge.

In the early days the clothing included corsets with high-collared blouses and neckties.It was not uncommon to have long bustle skirts with fur and skimmer hats.

In 1844 when Maud Watson won the Wimbledon Ladie´s Championship, the fashion trend changed.

Watson wore a white, long, bustled two-piece dress at the competition, popularizing the white tennis attire.

White was the best color for tennis clother because it did not reveal as much sweat stains as other colors.

In 1949, Gertrude Moran shocked tennis enthusiasts when she wore lace-trimmed panties beneath her white tennis dress.

This started the bold fashion trend of tennis apparel that continues up to this day.

Roger Federer, Venus and Serena Williams and other tennis champs look sporty and cool in their modern and fashionable tennis clothes.

It is not a surprise that the other well-known tennis stars do the same.

Today´s tennis clothes are stylish, but they do carry functional qualities for comfort on the tennis court and helps for better performance.

Modern tennis clothes are made of spandex, nylon and polyester, while old tennis clothes were made of cotton.These new performance fabrics are far better than cotton.

Cotton naturally absorbs moisture which makes you perspire while playing and makes your tennis clothes feel heavy because they are drenched with sweat.

The new performance fabrics outperform cotton and are breathable which keeps the player dry and cool.

Polyester colors come in many different colors and knits, and retain their shape a lot better than cotton.

Polyester performance fabrics are also durable which means your tennis clothes will last for a long time, and your sporty look will remain the same for longer.

Bright colored clothes are the trend in tennis fashion nowadays, however the traditional white color will not be out of the game.