Padel & Tennis Apparel: What UAE Players Are Wearing

Padel courts are now a familiar sight at UAE clubs, hotels and community facilities, and tennis remains a fixture of club and academy programmes. Many venues run both, with the same members, coaches and sponsors moving between courts.

This guide is for the people who buy the clothing: club and academy managers, corporate team organisers and tournament organisers. It covers what players wear on court, how the two sports differ, and how to brand and order apparel for a whole club.

See our padel apparel and tennis apparel pages for the garment options.

What this guide covers

• The core garments for padel and tennis
• Modest and full-coverage options
• Fabric choices: outdoor heat and indoor courts
• Club and sponsor branding
• Coach uniforms and event T-shirts
• Padel and tennis apparel compared
• Ordering for a club or academy
• Start your club apparel
• Frequently asked questions

The core garments for padel and tennis

Both sports use the same building blocks. What changes is the cut, the styling and how strictly the venue controls what is worn.

Tops

Players choose between a crew-neck or V-neck performance T-shirt, a polo with a collar, and a sleeveless or cap-sleeve top. Tennis clubs with a dress code often require a collar, so a polo is the safer base garment if your members play at more than one venue. Padel players more often wear a T-shirt cut.

Shorts and skorts

Both sports need somewhere to hold a spare ball. For shorts, that means side pockets deep enough that a ball stays put during a sprint. For skorts, it means a ball pocket on the inner short. Check both on a sample by putting a ball in the pocket and moving.

Dresses and leggings

A one-piece dress worn over ball shorts is common in tennis and is also worn on padel courts. Leggings, full-length or three-quarter, are worn under skorts and dresses or on their own with a longer top. They are also the simplest way to add coverage without changing the rest of the kit.

Caps and visors

For outdoor courts, a cap or visor is part of the kit, not an accessory. Choose a lightweight style with an adjustable back; many players prefer a dark under-peak because it reflects less glare. Embroidery is the usual branding method for headwear.

Modest and full-coverage options

Club apparel is available in men’s and unisex, women’s modest and Muslim women’s hijab-friendly fits. For racket sports, the practical modest set is a long-sleeved, longer-length top with a relaxed cut through the body, full-length leggings or loose training trousers, an optional skort worn over the leggings, and a sports hijab.

The detail to check is the serve and the overhead smash. A long top should stay in place when the playing arm is fully raised, and a hijab should stay secure through sharp turns of the head. Our guide to sports hijab coverage, fabric and fit covers this in more depth.

Produce the modest versions from the same artwork as the standard garments, so that members in a team photograph or a league fixture are clearly in the same kit.

Fabric choices: outdoor heat and indoor courts

Where your members play should drive the fabric choice more than which sport they play.

Outdoor courts

For much of the year, outdoor play in the UAE happens early in the morning or after sunset, in warm and often humid air. Lightweight polyester knits with an open or mesh structure, mesh panels under the arms and across the upper back, and pale base colours are the usual recommendations. Dark all-over designs look strong on a mock-up but absorb more heat in direct sun.

Indoor and covered courts

Many padel venues are indoor and air-conditioned. Players cool down between games, so a fabric with slightly more body, plus a light warm-up jacket or long-sleeved layer, is worth including in the club range. Colour is less of a comfort question indoors, which gives you more freedom with darker designs.

These are recommendations based on typical UAE conditions, not performance promises. Ask for swatches and compare them in the hand. Final specification will be confirmed during quotation. For background, read breathable sports fabrics for the UAE climate.

Club and sponsor branding

A club kit usually carries three layers of branding: the club crest, one or more sponsor logos, and a player or member name.

• Sublimation suits all-over designs, colour fades and patterns on polyester tops, dresses and skorts. The design is part of the fabric, so it cannot be changed after production.
• Embroidery suits polos, caps, jackets and coach uniforms where a crest should look formal.
• Heat transfer suits names and sponsor logos that are added to finished garments.

If sponsors change every season, keep their logos in positions that are applied separately, such as a sleeve or the upper back, instead of building them into the sublimated design. The base garment can then continue for members who join after the sponsor changes.

The comparison of sublimation, printing and embroidery for sports jerseys and the broader embroidery versus printing guide explain each method. Our garment printing and embroidery services are carried out in-house.

Coach uniforms and event T-shirts

Coaches and club staff

Members and parents need to identify a coach from the far side of a court. Give coaching staff a polo or T-shirt in a colour that members’ kit does not use, with the word Coach on the back, plus shorts or training trousers, a cap and a light jacket. Reception and court-side staff can wear the same polo in the club’s main colour.

Tournaments and corporate events

Social tournaments and corporate padel events usually need a participant T-shirt and a separate colour for organisers and volunteers. Collect sizes at registration instead of estimating, and include the full range of men’s, women’s and modest fits on the form. The events and promotional page covers event clothing more widely.

Padel and tennis apparel compared

Ordering for a club or academy

Clubs rarely order once. Members join through the year, juniors move up a size, and sponsors change. Plan the range so that it can be repeated.

Mustang recommendation: build one club range on a polo and a T-shirt in the same artwork, then add the skort, shorts, dress, leggings and modest set around them. Members who play both sports can then meet a tennis dress code with the polo and wear the T-shirt for padel, and the club keeps one design on record instead of two.

Buyer checklist

• List who needs kit: members, juniors, competitive teams, coaches, staff and event participants.
• Check the dress code of every venue and competition your teams enter.
• Supply the club crest and sponsor logos as vector artwork, with colour references.
• Decide which logos are permanent and which may change next season.
• Include modest and hijab-friendly fits in the first range.
• Test pockets, sleeve movement and length on a sample.
• Collect sizes from a try-on, using the size and fit guide for members who cannot attend.

Start your club apparel

Every order begins with a free design mock-up and a free sample against your confirmed order (LPO), and your sizes and artwork are stored for repeat orders as members join. Players can try a size set in person at our Jebel Ali showroom before committing. Delivery timelines are confirmed during quotation.

Browse padel apparel and tennis apparel, see how we work with clubs and academies, or return to sports uniforms. Then request a quote or request a sample.

Frequently asked questions

Can one club kit work for both padel and tennis?

Yes. The garments are largely the same. Offer a polo for venues that expect a collar and a T-shirt for padel, both in the same artwork, with shared shorts, skorts and leggings.

Which branding method is right for club apparel?

Sublimation suits all-over designs on polyester playing tops. Embroidery suits polos, caps and coach uniforms. Heat transfer suits names and sponsor logos added to finished garments. Most clubs use a combination.

Are modest options available in the club design?

Yes. Long-sleeved, longer-length tops, leggings, training trousers and sports hijabs can be produced in the same colours and artwork as the standard garments.

Do padel and tennis have rules about what players wear?

Some clubs, leagues and tournaments set requirements on colours, collars or logo sizes. These differ from one organiser to another, so check your own venue’s and competition’s current rules before approving a design.

Can we order event T-shirts with the club kit?

Yes. Participant and volunteer T-shirts can be quoted alongside club apparel. Collect sizes at registration so that the order matches the people attending.

How do new members get kit after the first order?

Approved artwork and sizes are kept on record, so later orders can be matched to the original range. Delivery timelines are confirmed during quotation.