Tenniscore trend: How the popularity of tennis-inspired clothing is taking over fashion this year | Fashion trends

Styles, naturally, are on full display in the stands at Flushing Meadows. Students High school girls are wearing culottes (the skirt-shorts combo often worn by tennis players) and knee-high socks as they return to college campuses. Young professionals and middle-aged parents are bringing the chic, preppy aesthetic to cafes, parks and wherever they run errands.

How Grand Slam fashion inspires everyday looks

“I’ve never played pickleball or tennis in my life, and I have, like, five tennis skirts,” said Stacy Sierra, 19, as she walked around the campus of the University of Notre Dame in Indiana. Sierra said she likes the look of the skirts and prefers their flowy material to denim during the summer and early fall. The trend, dubbed “tenniscore,” owes its moment to multiple factors. It’s an extension of athleisure, the time-saving, comfortable concept that made yoga pants, spandex shorts and other recreational clothing acceptable to wear in public — no workout required.

The popularity of pickleball (an easy-to-play mix of tennis, ping-pong and badminton), as well as interest in timeless fashions that exude “refined comfort,” help explain why racquet-sports-inspired clothing and footwear lines are so ubiquitous this year, according to Kristen Classi-Zummo, an analyst at market research firm Circana.

Data from the market research firm showed that sales of women’s tennis apparel rose 22% in the US between the beginning of the year and early August, while sales of men’s tennis apparel saw a 19% increase. Sports brands such as Nike, Fila and Adidas have launched cutting-edge collections of tank tops, shorts and visors to capitalize on the momentum.

For its part, Fila said in July that it was an ideal time for the company to “refresh its brand and product offering” due to the growing popularity of sports such as pickleball and tennis. One of its first attempts at rebranding was the “Bellissimo” campaign, which the company described as a reinvention of the traditional country club as a “mix of sport and fun.”

The rise in popularity of tennis and pickleball apparel

Adidas created a different collection in honor of each of the four Grand Slam tournaments; shoppers can purchase the cobalt blue and black dress Jessica Pegula wore during her quarterfinal victory match over No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Wednesday for $130. Nike enlisted fashion designer Yoon Ahn to create outfits for Naomi Osaka to wear while competing at the U.S. Open and a retail sneaker collection in colors meant to “evoke a rebellious, anarchistic teenage aesthetic.”

Last week, Vogue magazine and racquet sports brand HEAD unveiled a tennis collection that the fashion magazine said took two years to create. Womenswear brands like Free People and Abercrombie & Fitch have also gotten into the game, along with luxury brands like Gucci, which has a partnership with No. 1-ranked men’s singles player Jannik Sinner.

Classi-Zummo said Circana started seeing tennis and pickleball apparel, particularly athletic dresses, pop up in its data when consumers started going out more after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. People wanted to retain the comfort of the casual clothes they wore during lockdowns, but with a more polished, put-together look, she said.

Some fashion observers categorize the trend as an offshoot of niche, social-media-driven fads like “quiet luxury,” which emphasizes high-quality materials and clean, logo-free styles, and a close relative known as “old money aesthetic.” That’s a term for styles seen as a display of wealth, often generational, in a subdued way.

Others have attributed the renewed interest in court wear to “Challengers,” the Zendaya-starring film about a love triangle set in the world of competitive tennis (a generation ago, it was Gwyneth Paltrow’s Izod dress in “The Royal Tenenbaums”). Skorts have come back into style with the help of celebrities like Taylor Swift, who was spotted earlier this year in beige pleated skirts and lavender ruffled ones, the latter while on a pickleball court.

Brands and retailers have taken notice as pickleball has grown from almost nothing to 13.6 million players in the United States in just a few years. (Paddle, another tennis offshoot with roots in Mexico, has also gained traction, particularly in Europe.) Brands like Recess Pickleball and Tangerine Paddle offer apparel or accessories like bags and customizable paddles. “We’re very lucky to have capitalized on a growing market, but I’m surprised even with how quickly it’s grown,” said Tangerine Paddle co-founder Carly Llewellyn, whose company sells striped, floral and other custom-made paddles.

Some product makers have sought partnerships. Iconic Italian aperitif brand Aperol, known for the Aperol spritz cocktail, has sold its own orange-themed tennis capsule collection during the US Open, of which it is an official partner. Gym operator Life Time and Lululemon have signed a deal that allows the sportswear company to sell its apparel directly to club members and collaborate on key pickleball events.

In April, Target launched a limited-time pickleball collection with sneaker brand Prince that included pleated skirts and other items that “generated incredible sales momentum across all things pickleball,” Christina Hennington, the discount retailer’s chief strategy and growth officer, said during a May earnings call.

Social media content creators, some of whom get paid to promote products for brands or earn commissions from retailers like Amazon, have helped make tenniscore popular. TikTok videos by Talmesha Jones, 33, showing off her tennis outfits have received thousands of views. The San Antonio, Texas-based content creator first bought a tennis skirt a few months ago, when her now-boyfriend invited her on a tennis date.

These days, the couple regularly plays tennis and pickleball. Jones, who receives a commission for some of the products she shows off in her videos, has about 15 outfits she pairs together for playing or running errands around town. She plans to continue wearing tennis skirts when it’s cold, but pair them with leggings and boots. “Once I tried the product, I was like, ‘Oh, this is fun, this is cute,’” she said. “And you can do so many different things with it.”