Style Points: Fabletics hits the court with new Universal Tennis collab

Who wore what? Style Points breaks down the latest collabs, kits and fashion statements from around the tennis world.

Tennis, everyone?

After the likes of Lululemon, Michael Kors and Louis Vuitton recently debuted new tennis-inspired or tennis-specific collections, Fabletics is officially hitting the courts too: the athletic apparel juggernaut just unveiled a new collection in partnership with Universal Tennis.

Fabletics is a staple in the world of athleisure, known for both their fashionable and accessibly priced high-performance clothing and for their high-powered partnerships. The company launched in 2013 with actress Kate Hudson, and has also featured collabs with Demi Lovato, Kevin Hart and Lizzo.

But they’ve never created a tennis-specific collection until now. With the sport’s post-pandemic popularity continuing to grow—both on the courts and on fashion week catwalks—the partnership makes sense for both Fabletics and Universal Tennis, which aims to “connect players globally through level-based play”.

“Tennis is a perfect next step for Fabletics because there is so much opportunity to bring our expertise in design and development to the courts—we’re bringing the best of Fabletics fit, function, feel and fashion to the sport,” said Kelli Dugan, the chief design and merchandising officer at Fabletics.

“Both Universal Tennis and Fabletics are passionate about empowering our communities to feel their best while doing what they love. This launch is just the beginning of what we have in store as we continue our fast expansion into new categories and deepen our relationships with athletes and sports organizations.”

There’s no word yet on whether we’ll see the top WTA or ATP pros sporting Fabletics on court, but athlete sponsorship is an area that the brand is keen to explore, according to chief marketing officer Ryan Heller.

“The high-performance brands [like Nike or Adidas] have snatched up the big names, but tennis still has a lot of white space,” he recently told fashion publication Glossy.

Through the partnership, Fabletics will become the official outfitter of UTR Pro Tennis Tour (PTT), worn by staff and officials. Universal Tennis, which created the groundbreaking Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) in 2008 and launched the PTT in 2021, is set to host more than 300 events in 20 countries this year.

Items in the collection range in price from $24.95 to $89.95 (or $17.95 to $69.95 for VIP members), putting them in a relatively more accessible bracket than similar offerings from Nike and Adidas. The expected tennis staples are well represented, including dresses, skorts, tanks, tees and shorts, and the line is also rounded out by versatile items like sports bras, sweatshirts and joggers.

The Fabletics x Universal Tennis collection officially launched on Thursday, May 12, and is available online and at Fabletics retailers.