who plays tennis? tell me about your clothes and gear

[CloudBee]

Can you talk to me about what you wear? Mainly if you live in a cold climate and wear a skirt? Do you change into it when you get to the courts (indoor) or do you wear some type of skirt with leggings?

Most of the ladies at my club wear skirts. I've seen a few with leggings, but I'm not sure if it's a combo or if they are buying shorts-less skirts and pairing up with their own leggings? All of the courts are inside.

I'm in CT so in a few months we will have snow. This was our first cool morning, so now I'm plotting my moves on how to dress for winter. I've been going from the gym building to the tennis building in the AM. 45'ish minutes at the gym starting at 5:15AM doing cardio / weights, then tennis for 30 mins. Starting next week I'll do 15 minutes of weights followed by an hour of tennis a couple mornings a week. (Courts will resume fall hours, opening at 5:30AM. Right now I have to wait until 6AM.) I'm also doing lessons on Fridays, and may eventually do some intermittent point play classes.

Anyway. I want to minimize outfit changes going from gym to court, retain some modesty at the gym (leg press with a skirt, even if it has shorts has me feeling uneasy), and stick with the skirt on the courts as that's what's most common at my club. In the end, I think I'll probably have to make a quick stop in the tennis locker room to change from gym leggings to tennis skirt.

Sorry this was so wordy!

Regardless of what feedback you have - can you link in what clothes you're currently wearing? I was about to buy a skirt at the local tennis shop this weekend ($55 Nike Dry) only to find it for a mere $7 on Ebay. So I snagged a few Ebay deals and am really happy with them. If you do Nike, Adidas, or similar skirts, what do you wear on top? Right now I'm just pairing with my Athleta Fast Track dry tanks and SS tees.

Shoes? What have you found to be the most comfortable? (Likely not in the market as I have 2 new'ish pairs, but curious.)

I have a new Babolat Aero Lite which I love. I think the grip is a smidge too thick, so I may ask the pro shop or a local tennis store if they can re-grip with something more trim.

[kams]

I probably would change most of the time, but I do have a Wilson skirt with Capri leggings attached.

I wear mostly lululemon on top and Wilson or Nike skirts. My H is a rep for Wilson and his school is a Nike school, so I use mostly those by default. I'm thankful, though, because that's what I would choose anyway. Nike tennis shoes. Wilson racquets.

I wish I could link a few things, but I haven't really purchased much for tennis lately. I'm in sort of a strange situation - hard to justify spending $ on gear - I mostly just gladly take whatever comes my way.

[kams]

Also, do go in to a pro shop and see if they can check your grip size. Hopefully a regrip will work, but you might want to demo a smaller grip size if it's not enough. It will make a big difference

[CloudBee]

Aug 26, 2015 16:50:02 GMT -5 kams said:

Also, do go in to a pro shop and see if they can check your grip size. Hopefully a regrip will work, but you might want to demo a smaller grip size if it's not enough. It will make a big difference

Thanks for the advice! My club has a bunch of demo racquets so I will see if they have a 4!

[CloudBee]

Aug 26, 2015 16:48:40 GMT -5 kams said:

I probably would change most of the time, but I do have a Wilson skirt with Capri leggings attached.

I wear mostly lululemon on top and Wilson or Nike skirts. My H is a rep for Wilson and his school is a Nike school, so I use mostly those by default. I'm thankful, though, because that's what I would choose anyway. Nike tennis shoes. Wilson racquets.

I wish I could link a few things, but I haven't really purchased much for tennis lately. I'm in sort of a strange situation - hard to justify spending $ on gear - I mostly just gladly take whatever comes my way.

This is awesome. I'm jealous!

[kams]

Aug 26, 2015 19:30:28 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Aug 26, 2015 16:48:40 GMT -5 kams said:

I probably would change most of the time, but I do have a Wilson skirt with Capri leggings attached.

I wear mostly lululemon on top and Wilson or Nike skirts. My H is a rep for Wilson and his school is a Nike school, so I use mostly those by default. I'm thankful, though, because that's what I would choose anyway. Nike tennis shoes. Wilson racquets.

I wish I could link a few things, but I haven't really purchased much for tennis lately. I'm in sort of a strange situation - hard to justify spending $ on gear - I mostly just gladly take whatever comes my way.

This is awesome. I'm jealous!

If only it could make me a better tennis player

[libbygrl109]

I haven't played in a while, so I don't have any advice on gear, but this is how I check grip size - hold the racket with your forehand grip. You should be able to fit your index finger in the gap. I always used a grip that was slightly wider than the finger space.

Have fun! I really wish I could get back into playing, as it was my first love, but it's tough where I live to find consistent playing time without paying a ton in memberships and court fees.

[CloudBee]

Aug 26, 2015 20:51:46 GMT -5 libbygrl109 said:

I haven't played in a while, so I don't have any advice on gear, but this is how I check grip size - hold the racket with your forehand grip. You should be able to fit your index finger in the gap. I always used a grip that was slightly wider than the finger space.

Have fun! I really wish I could get back into playing, as it was my first love, but it's tough where I live to find consistent playing time without paying a ton in memberships and court fees.

This is the test the guy at the tennis shop used for me. And it "works". But I still think I might have a stronger hold if I had a smaller grip.

Do you know the reasoning behind needing that space?

[libbygrl109]

Aug 27, 2015 10:13:32 GMT -5 CloudBee said:

Aug 26, 2015 20:51:46 GMT -5 libbygrl109 said:

I haven't played in a while, so I don't have any advice on gear, but this is how I check grip size - hold the racket with your forehand grip. You should be able to fit your index finger in the gap. I always used a grip that was slightly wider than the finger space.

Have fun! I really wish I could get back into playing, as it was my first love, but it's tough where I live to find consistent playing time without paying a ton in memberships and court fees.

This is the test the guy at the tennis shop used for me. And it "works". But I still think I might have a stronger hold if I had a smaller grip.

Do you know the reasoning behind needing that space?

 I *think* it has to do with the natural way your hand grips things. Too big, and you'll be struggling to hold on to the racket, too small, and you'll be straining your muscles.