The tennis skirt is the piece that left the sport and never came back. Most people buying one now will never take it on court, which is fine — but the things that make it good on court are exactly the things that make it good off it, so they are still worth understanding.
A pleated skirt is not a decorated flat skirt. The pleats are folded so the hem opens when the leg moves and closes when it stops. That is why you can take a full sideways step in one without it binding, and why the silhouette reads as "moving" even standing still.
Check that the pleats are sewn from the waistband, not pressed in from partway down. Pressed-in pleats flatten out permanently after a few washes.
A real tennis skirt has an integrated short, and the quality of it varies more than anything else on the garment. The good ones are a proper knit short attached at the waistband. The cheap ones are a thin brief that twists. You can feel the difference in about two seconds.
Do not trust the label. Sizing has drifted substantially, and a vintage M is frequently a modern S. Measure a skirt you already own flat across the waistband and compare to the measurement given on the listing. Every piece here is listed with real measurements for this reason.
The waistband is the number that matters. Length is a preference; waist is a fit.
Elastic is the first thing to go — press the waistband and see whether it springs back or stays stretched. After that: the inner short for pilling between the thighs, and the pleats for permanent creasing where the garment was folded in storage. Colour fading is usually cosmetic and often looks better than new.
Every skirt and skort in stock is in vintage tennis skirts. If you would rather the top came matched, see tennis sets. Sizing questions are covered in more depth in our vintage sizing guide.
Related reading: What To Wear To Tennis · Tenniscore · Vintage Tennis Skirts · Tennis Outfit Ideas · Vintage Sizing Guide
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