Dress, skort, polo and short, from one dye batch
Tennis: a team uniform that has to look like one across four different garments
A tennis team wears more different garments than any other team we make for. One squad can be in dresses, skorts, polos and shorts on the same afternoon, and the uniform only reads as a uniform if all four come out the same colour.
That makes tennis a dye-batch problem before it is a design problem, and it is why we will not quote a tennis dress on its own when a team is also ordering polos.
Four garments, one roll of fabric
The dress, the skort, the polo and the short are printed from one roll and cut in one run. That is the only way the navy on a dress is the navy on a polo, because two dye runs are two navies, and on a court with both in frame the difference is visible from the umpire’s chair.
It is also why we ask for the whole team’s garment list before the mockup. The design is laid out across all four at once, so a stripe that runs across the chest of a polo runs at the same height across the bodice of a dress.
Where a club already has kit and wants to add to it, we colour-match from a garment rather than a swatch. The reasons a reorder can drift, and what stops it, are in our page on keeping a program’s colour on file.
What each piece is built for
- Dress
- A stretch knit with built-in shorts, cut so the hem does not lift on an overhead. The hardest garment in the set to pattern.
- Skort
- A pleated or flat skirt over an inner short, with a ball pocket in the short where the design allows.
- Polo
- Collared, in a light pique or a smooth knit, with a placket that lies flat under a serve.
- Men’s short
- A seven-inch inseam by default, with ball pockets deep enough to be useful.
- Crew shirt
- For teams that prefer a collarless top; the same knit as the polo.
- Sizing
- Women’s and men’s blocks drafted separately, and youth from a youth block.
The overhead test
A tennis dress or top is judged in one movement: the arm goes up for a serve or an overhead, and the garment either stays put or it lifts. A dress hem that rides to the hip, a polo that pulls out of a waistband, a skort whose inner short shows — every one of those is a pattern problem, not a fabric one.
We draft the armhole higher and the body longer than a general sports top, and we check the mockup against a raised arm rather than a standing figure. It looks slightly long on the hanger and right on the court.
Ordering for a tennis team
List every garment first
Dresses, skorts, polos, shorts, and how many of each. The whole set is laid out and printed together.
Men’s and women’s on one order
It is normal, and it is the cheaper way — one setup, one dye batch.
Names on the back are optional
Most tennis teams do not use them. Where they do, send a typed roster rather than a photograph.
Ten of one garment
The minimum is per garment. A team of eight ordering polos and skorts is under it on both; the same team ordering ten polos is over it on one.
What we make for tennis, and what it costs
Prices are per piece and include the design work. Every garment has a minimum of 10 pieces; sizes can be mixed within it. A garment marked quoted is priced per order, because its cut and design coverage change the work.
| Garment | What it is | Per piece | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's Tennis Dresses | Dress with built-in shorts, in a stretch knit, sublimated to the team design. | quoted | 10 pcs |
| Tennis Skirts & Skorts | Pleated or flat skirt over an inner short, with a ball pocket where the design allows. | quoted | 10 pcs |
| Tennis Polos & Shirts | Collared or crew tennis tops in a light, fast-drying knit. | quoted | 10 pcs |
| Men's Tennis Shirts & Shorts | Shirt and short as a set, with the short cut to a seven-inch inseam and pocketed for balls. | quoted | 10 pcs |
| Tennis Team Uniforms | The full matched set for a school or club team, men’s and women’s pieces from one dye batch. | quoted | 10 pcs |
Tennis questions
Can we get dresses and polos in exactly the same colour?
Yes, when they are ordered together. They are printed from one roll, which is the only way two different garments come out the same colour.
Does the dress have built-in shorts?
Yes, in the same stretch knit, with a ball pocket where the design allows.
Do you make men’s tennis kit?
Yes — polos, crew shirts and shorts on a men’s block, and they can be on the same order as the women’s pieces.
What is the minimum?
Ten pieces of one garment. Sizes can be mixed within it.
Can we add to kit we already have?
Yes. Send us a garment and we colour-match from it. A photograph is not enough for this.
How is tennis kit priced?
Per order. Send the garment list and quantities and a written price comes back the same working day.
Will the hem lift on a serve?
That is what the pattern is drafted against. The armhole is higher and the body longer than a general sports top for exactly this reason.
How long does an order take?
Two to three weeks from approved artwork, for the whole set together.
Keep reading