Attire for lawn tennis
Today tennis is considered to be one of the most popular games all across the world. It is a sport enjoyed by both men and women and is a popular choice of game for many kids. Tennis is played on both hard courts that are generally of clay and are so called “clay courts” and on lawn thus being called “lawn courts” giving birth to the term lawn tennis. Lawn tennis has its origins from way back in the times, from the royal European men playing the game to the times when it was ok for women to try their hand at it too, to today when it is a favourite pastime of both the sexes.
Time has had an effect on the way the game is played today and its rules and regulations as well and time has had an effect on the necessary tennis clothing as well. Most clubs today have a strict code for the clothing so if you are heading out to an unfamiliar club, then it is wise to call ahead and ask if they have any regulations.
In the olden days the gentleman were required to wear long dress pants with a collared shirt, sometimes worn with a half sleeved sweater. Women generally wore on the courts what they did on a normal day to day basis, long dresses with corsets and even gloves reaching the elbow. Of course overtime the gloves came off to give the ladies more grip over the racquets.
Today the dress codes are more modern and are decided keeping the players comfort in mind.
Men
Men according to The All England Club which hosts the all famous Wimbledon Championships are required to wear all white. White shorts that come just above the knees and white shirts with collars. Sometimes the players are allowed to even wear round neck t-shirts. Colour has been introduced only very recently and that too in reservation with say single stripes of a colour being allowed.
For lawn tennis men should more or less stick to white or pastel coloured t-shirts as they stand out against the green lawn. Shorts have pockets so that the tennis balls can be securely kept while playing. This lawn clothing is made in polyester of wicking material which allows the player to keep cool.
Women
Again in the Wimbledon Championships women are required to wear all white with very little colour allowed. Women are still asked to wear to skirts to resemble traditional lawn tennis clothing. Women wear tiny shirts on the inside of the skirt so that they are comfortable when playing as these skirts tend to be very short to allow easy movement. Many women also wear shorts when playing lawn tennis. Most clubs don’t have very strict restrictions when it comes to colour, but again we would recommend a call to the club before making it to the club. But if you are in doubt then a polo t-shirt with a skirt with athletic compressions shorts are the way to go.