Tennis attire is everywhere. Credit the pandemic, social media and pickleball

While tennis fans savor the last matches of the U.S. Open, a subset of spectators and TV viewers have watched the year’s final Grand Slam tournament as a source of fashion inspiration they can use to serve looks off the court.

It may have escaped people who don’t pay attention to clothing trends, but cities from Australia to America are awash in short pleated skirts, tennis dresses, polo collars and other garments that can make everyone look like they possess a country club membership and a respectable backhand.

The styles naturally are on full display in the stands of Flushing Meadows. Students are sporting skorts – the skirt-short mashup often worn by tennis players – and crew socks as they return to college campuses. Young professionals and middle-aged parents are taking the posh and preppy aesthetic to cafes, parks and wherever they run errands.

“I’ve never played pickleball or tennis in my life, and I have like five tennis skirts,” Stacy Sierra, 19, said while walking on the University of Notre Dame campus in Indiana. Sierra said she likes the look of the skirts and preferred their flowy material to denim during the summer and early autumn.

The trend, dubbed “tenniscore,” owes its timing to multiple factors. It’s an extension of athleisure, the time-saving, comfort-minded concept that made elevated yoga pants, spandex shorts and other recreational attire acceptable to wear in public, no workout required.

The popularity of pickleball – an easy-to-play mix of tennis, ping pong and badminton – as well as interest in timeless fashions that exude “polished comfort” help explain why clothing and shoe lines for inspired by racket sports are so ubiquitous this year, according to Kristen Classi-Zummo, an analyst with market research firm Circana.

The market research firm’s data showed sales of women’s tennis apparel spiked 22% in the U.S. between the beginning of the year and early August, while men’s tennis apparel saw a 19% increase. Athletic brands such as Nike, Fila and Adidas have rolled out fashion-forward collections of tank tops, shorts and visors to capture the momentum.

Fila, for its part, said in July that it was an ideal time for the company to “refresh its brand and product offerings” due to the rising popularity of sports like pickleball and tennis. One of its first cracks at the refreshed brand was a “Bellissimo” campaign, which the company described as a reimagination of the traditional country club as a “mix of sport…