Photo: Doree Shafrir

Like so many of us, I took up tennis during the pandemic out of desperation for human interaction and unmasked exercise. But perhaps there was also a part of me that was attracted to the idea of exercising in a skirt, a display of hyperfemininity and athleticism that harkened back to my short, extremely unremarkable career as a junior-varsity lacrosse player in high school.

At first, reluctant to invest in an entirely new workout wardrobe, I wore the ankle-length leggings that, prior to COVID, I had worn to the gym. But after taking lessons and going to group clinics for a couple of years, I was ready to join a team, and I began acquiring skirts. And because I live in Los Angeles, I play tennis outside year-round. (I know. I’m spoiled.) Which meant I needed quite a few skirts. My interest in tennis happened to coincide with an explosion of interest in tennis, and particularly tennis fashion, in the Zeitgeist: Challengers, of course, but also Taylor Swift’s viral tennis skirt, the Bama Rush obsession with tennis skirts, and more. Suddenly, tennis skirts were everywhere.

But the skirts that college girls were wearing for sorority rush weren’t necessarily the best ones to actually play tennis in. Or perhaps I’m just very particular about my tennis skirts, but as I began building my collection, I started noticing certain things. I liked a shorter skirt, for one: The longer ones felt frumpy and kind of got in the way. I preferred a higher-rise skirt and one that had a wider waistband that wouldn’t dig into my stomach. And the shorts had to be fitted because I needed to be able to tuck tennis balls into them without them rolling out. Yes, most tennis skirts come with ball pockets, but when you’re playing a match, it takes too long to actually maneuver the ball into the ball pocket. Much easier to just slide them under the leg band of the shorts.

I never really loved any of the skirts I had, but I began to feel a little bit like the princess and the pea when it came to why. Some had shorts that were too loose, or the fabric felt too thick, or they were a smidge too long, or the waistband was a little too narrow, or the color was off, or they were too expensive. Then my recreational USTA tennis team won our league and made it to Southern California sectionals, and we were promptly informed that the color that USTA had assigned SoCal for the year was … yellow. Yellow? No one was thrilled with this choice, but we dutifully set out trying to come up with some item of yellow tennis clothing that would be acceptable to our 12-woman team.

New! You can now save this product for later.

Stelle Women Tennis Skirt

From
$20

From
$20
at Amazon

Buy

Eventually, my teammate sent an Amazon link to the group chat and said, “Hey, what about this one?” It was a tennis skirt by a company called Stelle that seemed to be an actual company that made activewear and dancewear for adults and kids and not some random Amazon company with a name like FLIBINGINCLON. And it was shockingly inexpensive — just $21.99. (An Alo tennis skirt will run you anywhere from $78 to $98.) And it came in a lot of different colors, including … butter yellow.

At first it seemed almost too good to be true. High-waisted? Check. Wide waistband? Check again! The length wasn’t listed, but it looked short, and it didn’t have any flouncing or baby-bloomer-style butt ruffles. I bought it, and it was perfect. It was comfortable and had some small pleats in the back but nothing extraneous. I wore it to a practice before sectionals to test it out, and it passed with flying colors: The shorts didn’t ride up, and all tennis balls stayed present and accounted for just under my shorts. (There is really no graceful way to say “I tucked my balls into my shorts” without it sounding like “I tucked my balls into my shorts,” but I’m trying.) Almost my entire team bought the skirt for sectionals, and I wish I could say that it brought us luck, but we didn’t make it to the finals. Everyone on the team, though — whether they’re five-foot-one or six feet tall — looked cute. Now, months after sectionals, I’m still wearing the skirt, as are many of my teammates. In fact, I’ve bought two more in a slightly less gaudy navy (but I know the yellow will always be there if I need it).

(And for everything else you might need on the court – we asked a dozen tennis obsessives about their favorite gear and apparel.)

The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

Photo: Doree Shafrir

Like so many of us, I took up tennis during the pandemic out of desperation for human interaction and unmasked exercise. But perhaps there was also a part of me that was attracted to the idea of exercising in a skirt, a display of hyperfemininity and athleticism that harkened back to my short, extremely unremarkable career as a junior-varsity lacrosse player in high school.

At first, reluctant to invest in an entirely new workout wardrobe, I wore the ankle-length leggings that, prior to COVID, I had worn to the gym. But after taking lessons and going to group clinics for a couple of years, I was ready to join a team, and I began acquiring skirts. And because I live in Los Angeles, I play tennis outside year-round. (I know. I’m spoiled.) Which meant I needed quite a few skirts. My interest in tennis happened to coincide with an explosion of interest in tennis, and particularly tennis fashion, in the Zeitgeist: Challengers, of course, but also Taylor Swift’s viral tennis skirt, the Bama Rush obsession with tennis skirts, and more. Suddenly, tennis skirts were everywhere.

But the skirts that college girls were wearing for sorority rush weren’t necessarily the best ones to actually play tennis in. Or perhaps I’m just very particular about my tennis skirts, but as I began building my collection, I started noticing certain things. I liked a shorter skirt, for one: The longer ones felt frumpy and kind of got in the way. I preferred a higher-rise skirt and one that had a wider waistband that wouldn’t dig into my stomach. And the shorts had to be fitted because I needed to be able to tuck tennis balls into them without them rolling out. Yes, most tennis skirts come with ball pockets, but when you’re playing a match, it takes too long to actually maneuver the ball into the ball pocket. Much easier to just slide them under the leg band of the shorts.

I never really loved any of the skirts I had, but I began to feel a little bit like the princess and the pea when it came to why. Some had shorts that were too loose, or the fabric felt too thick, or they were a smidge too long, or the waistband was a little too narrow, or the color was off, or they were too expensive. Then my recreational USTA tennis team won our league and made it to Southern California sectionals, and we were promptly informed that the color that USTA had assigned SoCal for the year was … yellow. Yellow? No one was thrilled with this choice, but we dutifully set out trying to come up with some item of yellow tennis clothing that would be acceptable to our 12-woman team.

New! You can now save this product for later.

Stelle Women Tennis Skirt

From
$20

From
$20
at Amazon

Buy

Eventually, my teammate sent an Amazon link to the group chat and said, “Hey, what about this one?” It was a tennis skirt by a company called Stelle that seemed to be an actual company that made activewear and dancewear for adults and kids and not some random Amazon company with a name like FLIBINGINCLON. And it was shockingly inexpensive — just $21.99. (An Alo tennis skirt will run you anywhere from $78 to $98.) And it came in a lot of different colors, including … butter yellow.

At first it seemed almost too good to be true. High-waisted? Check. Wide waistband? Check again! The length wasn’t listed, but it looked short, and it didn’t have any flouncing or baby-bloomer-style butt ruffles. I bought it, and it was perfect. It was comfortable and had some small pleats in the back but nothing extraneous. I wore it to a practice before sectionals to test it out, and it passed with flying colors: The shorts didn’t ride up, and all tennis balls stayed present and accounted for just under my shorts. (There is really no graceful way to say “I tucked my balls into my shorts” without it sounding like “I tucked my balls into my shorts,” but I’m trying.) Almost my entire team bought the skirt for sectionals, and I wish I could say that it brought us luck, but we didn’t make it to the finals. Everyone on the team, though — whether they’re five-foot-one or six feet tall — looked cute. Now, months after sectionals, I’m still wearing the skirt, as are many of my teammates. In fact, I’ve bought two more in a slightly less gaudy navy (but I know the yellow will always be there if I need it).

(And for everything else you might need on the court – we asked a dozen tennis obsessives about their favorite gear and apparel.)

The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.