After years of skorts, polos and separates dominating women’s tennis wardrobes, the dress is returning as the star of the show.

According to our analysis of Google Trends data, UK searches for “tennis dress” are at an all-time high in 2026, up 70% over the past two years, and now around double searches for “tennis skirt”.

For anyone wondering what to wear for tennis this summer, the answer appears to be moving decisively back towards the dress.

EXEAT Lorina Tennis Dress

At EXEAT, this feels less like a surprise than a homecoming.

When we launched the brand in 2021, the luxury tennis dress was not the obvious bet. Women’s tennis clothing was still largely shaped by mass sportswear: practical skorts, technical tops, sweat-wicking fabrics and generic stretch. The market seemed to assume that women wanted performance first and beauty second, if at all.

We were not so sure.

EXEAT began with just two hero designer tennis dress silhouettes: a drop-waist sailor dress and an A-line court dress inspired by Grace Kelly at the Monte Carlo Country Club. No leggings empire. No endless scroll of separates. Just a clear conviction that the tennis dress, once the defining garment of women’s tennis, was ready to return.

EXEAT Nelson Tennis Dress from the 2021 launch

And, much to our immense joy, you agreed. Both dresses sold out.

Now, in 2026, the wider market appears to be catching up. As tennis, padel and pickleball grow, players are not simply looking for more sportswear. They are looking for better sportswear: more polished, more flattering and more reflective of one’s personal style. Clothing that performs beautifully, but still carries the pleasure of getting dressed.

That is where the tennis dress wins.

Because a good women’s tennis dress is not nostalgia. It is one of the cleverest garments in sport. It has to sculpt without restricting, move without losing shape, and feel elegant before, during and after play. It has to work on the baseline, by the clubhouse, on the terrace and through the long summer afternoon that follows.

EXEAT Checkmate Games Dress

At EXEAT, we call this Haute Courtwear.

British luxury courtwear. Handmade in the UK. Created in small runs. Cut from pioneering sustainable fabrics. Designed for women who want to play seriously without dressing joylessly.

You see it in the Alice Tennis Dress, with its hand-painted Story Lines print, crisp white collar, delicate frill sleeves and signature Power Pleats™. You see it in the Diamonds Are Forever Tennis Dress, our love letter to the lawn tennis dress, with a Peter Pan collar, gold buttons and hand-painted argyle Checkmate print. You see it in the Duchess Tennis Dress, where nautical chic meets meets high-summer mischief.

Even our High Tea Culottes (below) our answer to the classic tennis skirt, are part of the same idea: sport can be practical without becoming plain.

The return of the tennis dress belongs to a wider return of dressed-up sport. The International Tennis Federation reports that global tennis participation has reached 106 million players, up 25.6% in five years. In Britain, LTA data shows adult annual tennis participation grew 44% over the past three years, reaching around 5.6 million people. Padel has passed one million players in Britain, while pickleball reached 24.3 million players in the US in 2025.

More women are stepping onto courts and demand proves they want clothes worthy of the occasion: beautiful tennis outfits for women, elegant white tennis dresses, flattering pleated tennis skirts and luxury tennis clothing that can move from match point to clubhouse lunch without missing a beat.

The court has always been a stage... EXEAT simply dressed for it early.