How to choose the Best Tennis Skorts, Skirts & Dresses for Women

Anyone playing the game of tennis knows that tennis skorts and skirts are an important part of their tennis attire. Now there’s no need to get confused. Yes, there is a garment named skort, which is a combination or rather a portmanteau word which is a combination of the two words short and skirt. How to choose between a tennis skort or a tennis skirt?

Types of Tennis Skorts

There are basically two types of skorts in the market. The first type has a fabric layer covering its front and short section while it looks more like a regular pair of shorts from behind. This style is popular with not only tennis skorts but also on swimsuit bottoms and in some regular clothing stores.

Another skort version resembles a skirt from both the back and front. It is basically a pair of shorts with a layer of fabric or a skirt surrounding it. This style is not only used as tennis attire, but also in school, swimsuits and cheerleader uniforms.

The skirt fabric has no actual function in the skorts; it’s the short underneath that is functional. It ensures there is no chance of any accidental showing off of the undergarments while playing your game.

Women enjoy the freedom and ease skorts offer them, and the fact that it reveals less of the figure than a pair of shorts. Moreover, skorts effectively hide any recognizable faults and are relatively dressier than shorts.

History of tennis skirts

While women have been playing tennis for more than one and a half centuries, it was only in the 1920s that the concept of wearing a short’ skirt came into vogue. Women before that had to play tennis wearing floor-length skirts, long-sleeved tops, and hats. It was only after World War II that their skirt hemline started getting shorter. It was later in the 1960s that the world of tennis first saw miniskirts.

However, since then, tennis skirts have become so short that towards the 20th century, it’s manufacturers have started manufacturing skirts with built-in panties or shorts so that the player needn’t wear any additional, special undergarments.

Differences between tennis skirts and skorts

It’s important you understand and realize the difference between tennis skorts and skirts so that you know what you want and if you are more comfortable wearing skorts or skirts while playing your favorite game.

The main difference between a skirt and a skort is that skorts have divided legs. This gives them more flexibility and the ability to play the game. It looks like a short skirt but has individual leg sections with a flap covering in the front. Skorts are generally rather short but offer more coverage than a pair of shorts does.

Skirts are single-piece garments that extend downwards from the waist without any joint between the legs. In other words, skirts don’t have a pair of shorts in them as skorts do. This is why women who opt to wear skirts typically have to wear an additional pair of shorts for comfort while playing.

On the contrary, if you buy and wear skorts, there is no need of wearing any additional clothing, which is why it’s a more comfortable and better option for most women.

Tips for choosing the right skorts or skirts

The tennis skirts of today are so much more fashionable and functional as skorts and need to be chosen taking various factors into mind. Tennis skorts are made not only using a wide range of materials but are designed individually with respect to factors like it’s cut, waistband, and length.

Moreover, there are so many; women interested in buying tennis skorts as it’s not worn only while playing tennis, but also while pursuing other activities like running, hiking, and kayaking.

With such a huge market for tennis skorts, it’s quite obvious that its manufacturers produce skorts in various designs and materials, making it difficult for some women to make choices.

Things to consider while buying tennis skorts

Tennis skorts come in two main styles but in various colors. They are available as skirts with built-in panties and skirts with built-in shorts. While tennis skorts and skirts are available in different styles, it’s left to your personal choice to decide what style and type of tennis attire you prefer wearing while playing your game.

Cut

The skort cut is the first element to consider, as tennis skirts are popularly available in A-line, straight and pleated cuts. Each design has its own characteristics worth knowing. A-line skirts are rather popular as they do not cling to the legs and are thus rather laudatory to most figures.
While straight-cut skirts do tend to cling to the legs, they offer more freedom of movement than A-line skirts as they have slits cut into them. Skirts with pleats are considered to be the basic and classic tennis skirt cut where the kick pleats lead to pleated skirts having the most fabric.

Fabric used

Fabrics used for manufacturing tennis attire have changed a lot since the start of the manufacture of tennis skirts. Skirts today are made using high-performance polyester fabrics which prove worthy of keeping athletes cool, dry, and comfortable all the time.
Of course, there are also cotton tennis skorts available, but they are not as cooling or stretchy in nature as polyester versions. Moreover, women tend to prefer buying polyester tennis skirts as they dry much faster than their cotton counterparts.

Waistband

Tennis skirts are also chosen based on their waistband, which may be elastic or banded in design. The elastic waists are generally stretchy in function, which is why skirts with elastic bands are easier and more comfortable to wear.
On the contrary, while the banded design is stiffer’ to wear, they do offer a more secure feel when worn. The waistbands of elastic and banded skirts come in different widths. While the flat and wide versions are considered by many to be more comfortable and stylish to wear, full-figured women are not so comfortable in them.

Built-in shorts

The shorts used in tennis skorts are identified as compression shorts or just shorts. They are called compression shorts as they are tight-fitting and are quite similar in looks and style as bicycle shorts.
There are also tennis skorts with other types of less form-fitting shorts, and even shorts with ball pockets which prove helpful at holding tennis balls. Of course, even skorts with compression shorts can easily and firmly tuck a ball underneath its fabric as compression shorts do not move around much by nature, nor do they ride up like other shorts.
As so many different types of shorts with different features go into making tennis skorts, it’s important that you always read the skorts’ description before buying. Make sure you buy your pair of skorts with your desired and comfortable pair of shorts.

Length

The length of the skirt is another reckoning factor for buying tennis skirts. Most tennis skort manufacturers manufacture tennis skorts not only in different styles but also in different lengths. The length of the skirt is on an average between 11 to 15 inches for most styles and is the length from the skirt’s waist to its bottom on the center backside.

Color

It’s a known fact that white is a common color in tennis attire. It has been used since the early history of modern tennis because it more effectively hides sweat marks. In fact, white is still the classic color choice on tennis courts and is the reason why Wimbledon still maintains a dress code for players to wear tennis whites.
It is, however, difficult to keep whites, especially the cotton whites spotless. This is why athletes who wear pristine whites are considered to be privileged athletes. In fact, except for Wimbledon and some other private tennis clubs, colored attire is more than permissible and accepted while on the court.
While it’s still compulsory for Wimbledon players to wear white, participating players can wear stylish and fashionable tennis skirts designed and created by top designers. This is why you ou can now find tennis skirts in a whole range of colors. The different available fabric options and colors used in manufacturing tennis skorts leads to so many types and designs to choose from.

Size

Its obvious size is important while choosing tennis skirts as no one wants to buy skirts that are too large or small to wear! Like any other clothing type, the sizes of tennis skirts to vary from brand to brand.
This is why you need to first measure your waist and hip so that you can choose the right pair of tennis skorts for yourself in a particular brand. Get hold of a measuring tape, and if you don’t have one, even a long piece of string and a ruler will do to take measurements.
Measure the narrowest part of the waist to get your waist measurement while your hip measurement is the measurement of the fullest part of your hip. Once you have your measurements in hand, use the help of sizing charts most major brands and stores have on their websites to help you choose the right skorts for yourself.

It’s interesting to learn that even the terminology for tennis skirts or skorts tends to differ between brands. While Fila and Adidas refer to skirts that have built-in shorts as skorts, other brands like Nike offer both skirts with built-in shorts and skorts. So be ready, and know the meaning of both terms while looking for and doing your research on tennis skirts. 

Like anything else you want to buy, you need to do your necessary research before you actually buy your skirt.
This is especially true if this is the first time you are buying and wearing a tennis skirt. It’s better if you take a look at a few pictures and videos of your favorite tennis players and other athletic players wearing and playing in them.
You then get a better perspective of how the different styled and colored tennis skirts look when in action.

It’s interesting to learn that of the many sportswomen play today, tennis is the one sport which has a long and rich history of fashion. The skirts women wore centuries ago while playing tennis was much more restrictive in function. However as time and fashion kept changing and evolving, so has the style of tennis skirts. They have now grown much more comfortable, and offer much more freedom of movement.
There are so many designs and types of tennis skirts available today that it’s rather easy and possible to be stylish while wearing functional athletic clothing. It’s left to you to choose your tennis skirts or skorts based on your chosen color, budget, and of course, your comfort zone.

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Women’s Active Athletic Skirt

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Blevonh Women Tennis Skirts Inner Shorts with Pockets

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