Tennis Bags For Women - How To Find Your Perfect Bag

Hardly a month goes by without a stylish new women's tennis bag being introduced to the ever more fashion conscious and discerning tennis playing population. The success of a clutch of small tennis bag manufacturers lately in catering to women's demands for much more stylish and feminine bags has persuaded even some of the big established companies to produce their own fashionable lines.

Though more choice is normally a good thing, it does create an overload of alternatives, so how can you narrow down these options to find a perfectly practical but stylish ladies' tennis bag?

It's a good idea to spend a few minutes isolating what features are most important to you in your new bag. If you're a high-flier, with the need to carry multiple tennis racquets to court every day, then a larger more practical bag might be the best option like a 6 pack (aka a 'Combi') or 12 pack - a bag that's going to cope with your racquets, tennis clothing, tennis balls, accessories and personal items day in, day out.

These bags have a tendency to be the most boring, and the very reason that so many of these little tennis bag businesses sprang up to counteract the big, bland and brash. However, there are now some decorative larger alternatives from some of the main producers like Head, Prince and Yonex that look that they were designed with women's needs and styling in mind.

Incidentally, a 6 pack or 12 pack (aka a 'Supercombi'' or 'Supersix') tennis bag isn't designed to carry 6 or 12 tennis racquets plus your tennis gear. The terms are more an indication of bag size in that you could carry that many racquets to court if you had another bag for your tennis gear. But it's highly unlikely you'll ever need 12 racquets. Even the top players only carry about 6, and use the other compartment(s) for their changes of clothes, and personal effects.

If you like the idea of a climate control technology, you'll most likely find it in these bigger mass - produced tennis bags. The top players use these compartments to keep their racquets from environmental changes in heat and humidity that can alter the tension in their racquet strings. If your tennis isn't as highly tuned as that, you can equally use this technology to keep your refreshments cool!

Maria Sharapova until recently played with Prince racquets and tennis bags. She had some influence over the design of bags bearing her name, and that input is still evident in Prince's new bags. Maria's one of the most fashionable women in women's tennis, and this shows in Prince's Sharapova mini collection - a 6 pack and a triple bag. She's got Prince to build in some extra pockets for 'essentials' that she would appreciate as a tennis playing woman, and the styling makes Prince's other multi-racquet bags look a bit ordinary.

Perhaps Maria's main challenger in the women's tennis fashion arena is Ana Ivanovic, and she's been given her own tennis bag too by her racquet manufacturer, Yonex. It's not quite as pretty as Maria's Prince bag, but it'll get your tennis gear and the kitchen sink to court if needed, as it's designed to hold 9 tennis racquets in three separate compartments. With two other women's tennis style beacons on their books now - Caroline Wozniacki and Maria Kirilenko, it's likely Yonex are going to be taking special care of their women's tennis bag designs in the near future.

The Triple Tennis Bag, or 3 pack lies in tennis bag world where the big mainly practical bags meet their smaller mainly ornate cousins (though many of these bags are perfectly practical too). The fact they're not designed to carry as much gear allows them to be more streamlined and 'sporty'.

There's normally a large compartment for your racquet(s) and other pockets and compartments for your other tennis gear. You can carry these bags like a briefcase or over the shoulder with a padded strap.

adidas isn't known for it's racquets or tennis bags but with the Barricade II Tour Triple, they've come up with one of the most desirable 3 Packs around. Apart from it's looks, this lightweight bag has some nice additional features, like a ventilated shoe tunnel and an anti-microbial lining which should keep it free from odors even if you use it to carry your post match tennis clothing.

You can really let your imagination run when you enter the realm of tennis totes for women. Along with backpacks, they're the most imaginatively styled, mostly by women determined to rebel against the ubiquitous bland bags from the big brands.

The range of styles is enormous with brands like Jetpac (now Life is Tennis) and Whak Sak offering tens of very different alternatives so you can better match your bag to your personality, and you're less likely to meet someone with the same bag at the tennis club.

Both brands pride themselves on attention to detail and sourcing the best materials for their bags and are constantly updating their ranges to keep everything fresh and exciting.

These Totes normally have space for at 1 - 4 racquets and lots of pockets, inside and out, to cope with items as diverse as tennis balls, tennis shoes, grips, water bottles, towels cell phone, MP3 Player and snacks.

They're are often priced in the $70 - $80 range which means they're not a cheap alternative to the big tennis bags. Whak Saks in particular tend to 'shout out' their presence, so you need a personality that can stand all the attention!

Also worth a mention in this price band are Maggie Mather Tennis Totes with their own refined styling and six colors to choose.

You probably wont see many of these tennis totes around. They're priced to be exclusive, and as such, they don't need to be made in the places in the world with the lowest labor costs. 40 Love Courture Tennis Totes are made in the USA and are made to order. This allows for a high level of customization: you can choose fabric, and add a monogram or text in your choice of typeface and there's even a Swarovski crystal option.

40 Love Courture bags are built to last and have been designed to be as practical as they are pleasing on the eye. A matching clutch comes free with the bag and the manufacturers claim to have the best warranty in the business, with a lifetime guarantee on zippers, straps and other hardware.

Court Couture have a similarly priced range of attractive tennis totes, with luxurious fabrication and attention to detail. Their 'White Python' is featured at the bottom of this article, and other sumptuous bags have equally evocative names, like 'Misty Sun' to describe their appearance.

There's an external compartment to snugly fit your racquet (or 2), that gives these bags a distinctive style. As is the case with the 40 Love totes above, they're multi-functional, looking just as impressive for off court occasions as on, which might make the hefty price tag a little more bearable.

This tennis bag grouping offers you the most options for getting your tennis gear to court efficiently, whilst looking good in the process. There's a backpack option in most tennis bag ranges, but the nice designs tend to belong to the same manufacturers as the stylish Totes above, like Whak Sak, Jetpac (Life Is Tennis) and 40 Love Courture. All three seem to have explored the boundaries of their imaginations to give us the unconventional in style, yet married to the perfectly practical in design.

Perhaps Jet have given us the most choice, certainly in sizes and alternatives for carrying. From their 'Baby Jet' backpack to the 'Trolley' - a backpack with wheels, there's almost certainly a bag to match your requirements in getting your tennis gear from 'a' to 'b' in comfort and style.

Many bags have options to be carried like a sling, or with a handle, or with the traditional 2 straps over the shoulders, or even like the 'Deluxe Two Strap' above, that actually has a third strap around the waist for maximum stability when loaded to the brim.

The tennis backpack bag allows you to take from 1 - 4 + tennis raquets to court with ease and comfort, and has all the pockets for essentials you'd expect in a tennis bag. Many also have hooks to handily attach your bag to the court fence for easy access and placement, and to save on wear and tear.

When you've spent a chunk of money to outshine your opponent's apparel with your favorite designer tennis apparel, a matching designer tennis bag would really dent their confidence and give you the edge.

There are a few exceptional designer tennis bags out there that will set you apart from the rest. If you don't mind fending off endless compliments, a Cortiglia tennis bag will take 2 of your racquets to court in supreme style. Designed in Northern California and handcrafted in Italy in leather and nylon, there are three styles to choose from - the 'Sonoma', the 'Belvedere' and the 'Marina'.

Cortiglia women's tennis bags have been mentioned favorably in 'Vogue' magazine, and no less a person than multiple Slam winner, and tennis legend, Steffi Graf is a proud owner. Her bag is the 'Marina' in black.

Another highly exclusive range is the Traci Tennis Bag Collection of animal print tennis bags. They're hand crafted and exquisitely decorated with embossed pewter, braided straps and tassels, and look quite unlike any other tennis bag. 'Midnight Panther' is perhaps my favorite and looks as menacing as the animal itself. Despite all these embellishments, Traci Tennis Bags are 100% functional bags for tennis and will convey your tennis gear and racquets in incomparable style.

Fashion designer Stella McCartney in her partnership with adidas, produces many of the best looking tennis dresses each year, currently worn exclusively by Caroline Wozniacki. In view of Caroline's tremendous year, Stella has produced a proper tennis bag, as opposed to the sports bags she normally creates. If you like Caroline's designer look, why not get the bag that's been designed to match it, with all Stella's flair and adidas' technical know how.

Caroline also demonstrates how it's possible to achieve maximum style even though she's contracted to carry the bag that bears her racquet name - she has two bags! One huge Yonex one for her racquets and bulky tennis gear, and Stella's one to match her tennis apparel and to carry her more personal possessions.

The list of the best women's tennis bags wouldn't be complete without a mention of Wilson, and in particular the Wilson Hope bags that support breast cancer charities. These fine looking bags, a 3 pack, a tote and a backpack, have been brightening up the tennis courts and indeed people's lives for a while now, and there's a new range just out.

Their design is very distinctive and attractive, and luckily the new bags have maintained this appeal. This should be good news for cancer charities as they get a donation every time anyone buys one of these great bags, and any other Wilson Hope tennis products that include pink tennis balls, visors, wristbands, racquets, tennis shoes, and other items that display the distinctive Pink Ribbon.

That Wilson also care for the environment, in their production of PVC free tennis bags is an added bonus in buying Wilson Hope or any of Wilson's fantastic leading edge range of bags, carried by the likes of Roger Federer and the Williams sisters.