Tennis Apparel

The types of clothing worn for playing organized tennis is not as regulated as clothing in many other sports can be. Tennis apparel can be as simple as wearing a T-shirt, a pair of shorts, and a pair of athletic shoes. As tennis has its roots in the English upper class, tennis apparel sometimes exhibits a country club influence. Polo shirts and visors, for instance, are fairly common wear for tennis players. An industry does exist that makes apparel specifically intended for playing tennis, but besides the footwear, tennis really does not call for the wearing of any specialized type of clothing. Therefore, most specialized tennis apparel is more a statement of fashion than of sporting utility.

Tennis Apparel

The only tennis apparel that is particularly specialized for tennis (and demonstrably can make a difference in one's tennis game) is the tennis shoe. Tennis shoes have soles that are designed to maximize friction and contact with the tennis court floor. Thusly the sole of a tennis shoe lacks the recessed "arch" areas that one usually finds on the undersides of other athletic shoes. The tennis shoe is meant to give the tennis player the firmest footing possible, as having a secure stance is important in properly executing a stroke of the racquet.

Tennis Clothes

Similarly to other professional athletes, professional tennis players often sport designer tennis wear that usually have a brand name emblazoned somewhere on them, which is part of corporate sponsorship. In men's tennis, the type of apparel is still relatively simple and generally consists of shorts and some kind of short-sleeved shirt.

Tennis Clothing

The tennis apparel featured in professional women's tennis tends to be somewhat more creative and is sometimes slightly revealing, taking advantage of the attractiveness of many professional women's tennis players. Some female professional tennis players will wear a simple sports shirt and shorts, while others opt for flashier, form-fitting outfits that commonly involve short skirts.

As tennis is not a team sport (except in the sense that there can be teams of individuals who play separate games), uniformity is not a high priority when it comes to tennis apparel. This contributes to the wider variety of tennis apparel options one sees in professional tennis. However, in some non-professional or state-sponsored tennis competitions, such as interscholastic tennis or Olympic tennis, players on a given team can be required to at least wear clothing of a similar color or clothing that features a team logo.