Tennis apparel doesn't work like a football or basketball uniform, and the calendar doesn't either. In most California CIF sections, girls tennis plays in the fall and boys tennis plays in the spring — two rosters, two seasons, six months apart. Add a dress code that's about coverage and neatness rather than a mandated color, and it's easy to see why programs get tripped up. Here's how California athletic directors and coaches actually make this decision, season by season.
The rule that's different: no mandated color clash
Football and basketball programs plan around a strict home/away color rule. Tennis doesn't have one. Under the NFHS tennis rules that CIF follows, players need a collared or crew shirt with sleeves and shorts, a skort, or a dress, worn unaltered and neatly — there's no restriction on manufacturer logos or jewelry, and hats or visors are allowed with the bill worn forward or backward.
Rules are refined periodically, so confirm the current season's specifics with your league before you order. But the practical takeaway is real: because there's no away-set requirement, most programs design one signature look and wear it all season, which means the design decision is worth getting right the first time since there's no fallback set to lean on.
Quick take: without a color-clash rule to satisfy, the design bar shifts from "does this comply" to "does this represent the program" — spend the extra round of proofs on the one set you're actually going to wear.
California's fall/spring split — and why it trips programs up
In most CIF sections, girls tennis is a fall sport (practice typically opens in early August, matches run through October) and boys tennis is a spring sport (practice typically opens in February, matches run into May). That's why we split our own tennis pages the same way — fall tennis for the girls' season and spring tennis for the boys'.
The confusion we see most often: a booster club treats tennis as one order and tries to size both rosters together in the spring, which means the fall girls' team missed its real ordering window months earlier and scrambles for a rush job. The two seasons run independently, but that doesn't mean the two teams need different identities — most programs keep the same color scheme and design across both rosters so the program reads as one consistent brand, and just place two separate orders on two separate timelines.
| Season | Roster | Practice starts | Order by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Girls varsity/JV | Early August | May–June |
| Spring | Boys varsity/JV | Early February | November–December |
Custom tennis apparel typically takes 6 to 10 weeks from approved artwork to delivery. Order in those windows and you're clear of the rush; wait until the season is already underway and you're into an in-season fallback rather than a planned rollout.
What a tennis order actually includes
Tennis apparel is a different category than a padded jersey set. A typical program order covers performance polos or crew tops, skorts, dresses, or shorts, a warm-up jacket and pant for cool morning matches, visors or hats, and often a team bag. Fabric matters more here than in most sports — players are outdoors for hours in direct sun, so look for moisture-wicking, quick-dry performance knits with UV-conscious construction rather than a heavier cotton-feel fabric built for contact sports.
Sizing a co-ed program across two seasons
Because the girls' and boys' teams order separately, it's easy for sizing and color to drift between them over a few years. A few practices keep it consistent:
- Keep one master spec sheet (colors, logo placement, fabric) that both seasons' orders reference, even though the purchase orders are separate.
- Run a quick size check each season rather than reusing last year's numbers — tennis rosters turn over fast between fall and spring.
- Order a small buffer for late roster adds, especially on the fall team where tryouts can run into the first week of practice.
Our team uniform sizing hub has size charts and a measuring guide, and our sport-by-sport equipment checklists help make sure apparel, warm-ups, and bags are all accounted for before either season starts.
Branded or non-branded?
Adidas and Under Armour both build performance tennis polos, skorts, and warm-ups with strong custom template libraries — the pick for programs that want a premium, on-trend look. Quality non-branded lines deliver the same quick-dry performance at a lower price point, which works well for JV rosters or booster budgets stretched across two seasons a year instead of one. Because we carry both, we can quote branded and non-branded side by side against your actual roster and budget.
Don't forget the sideline
A tennis order is a natural moment to round out the rest of the program's look — coaches' polos, sideline jackets, and player/parent spirit wear all key off the same colors you're already finalizing. Bundling them into one order, or setting up a custom online team store so families can order spirit wear directly, keeps branding consistent across both the fall and spring rosters without doubling the coordination work.
Working with a team dealer
Tennis is one of the easiest sports to get wrong on timing simply because the calendar is unusual — miss the window and you're not choosing between fabrics, you're choosing between rush fees and playing in mismatched gear. An independent team dealer who already knows the fall/spring split can flag your order windows before they pass, quote both brands and non-branded against your budget, and keep one consistent design across both rosters. At National Sports Apparel we've outfitted California high school, club, and college programs since 2009 — with no order minimums, so a fall girls' order and a spring boys' order are just as easy as one combined ask.