The IceRays field guide
A tennis player's guide to sun sleeves
Social tennis on a Tuesday morning, pennant on the weekend, a hit with friends when the weather is good. However you play, tennis courts rarely have much shade, and your arms are out in the sun for every set. Sun sleeves are a simple way to cover your forearms without reapplying sunscreen at every change of ends. This page covers fit through the serve, club dress, the court surface and the parts of your routine that sleeves do not replace.
Why tennis arms catch so much sun
Between points you stand in the open. At the change of ends there may be a bench under a shade sail, or there may be nothing. On a hard court the sun reaches you from more than one direction. ARPANSA notes that hard surfaces like concrete reflect more UV than soft surfaces like grass or soil, and lighter colours reflect more than darker ones.
Sunscreen on your forearms has its own problem in tennis. As you warm up, it can run down your arm and onto your hand, and nobody likes a slippery grip. Reapplying at the change of ends is fiddly with a racquet in one hand. Sleeves go on once in the car park and stay on for the session.
What UPF 50+ means for a player
UPF is the rating for how much UV gets through a fabric, and a UPF 50+ fabric blocks 98%+ of UV. On court that matters because your forearms are out for every rally, every walk to pick up balls and every wait at the net post.
IceRays sleeve fabric went through an ARPANSA test in 2015. The sample was black, and it rated UPF 50+, the "Excellent" band. The 2015 test report (PDF, opens in a new tab) shows exactly what sample was tested, and our guide to UPF versus SPF explains why a fabric number and a sunscreen number are not the same thing.
Check the serve before your first match
Try the sleeves on with the shirt you play in, somewhere with room to swing:
- Reach up through a slow serve and an overhead smash. At the top of the reach, the band should still be tucked under your shirt sleeve, with no strip of bare skin at the shoulder.
- Swing a forehand and a backhand, and a two-handed backhand if that is your shot. Check the band does not slide down.
- Settle the cuff at your wrist bone. If you wear a wristband, it can sit over the cuff.
- Bend and straighten your elbow a few times. The sleeve should feel snug, not tight.
Do not haul the sleeve up hard to close a gap. A knitted fabric pulled thin lets more UV through, a point ARPANSA makes in its clothing guidance. If there is still a gap at full stretch on the serve, a shirt with a slightly longer sleeve fixes it better than a tighter pull. One size fits all adults. If the band pinches or marks your arm after a long match, get in touch and we will help.
One thing to be clear about: IceRays are sun sleeves, not compression sleeves or braces. They are not a treatment for tennis elbow or any other sore joint. If your elbow is giving you trouble, see your doctor or physio.
Club whites and colour choices
Some clubs and grass-court events expect mainly white clothing, and white sleeves suit that dress code. For everyday social tennis, plenty of players match sleeves to their shirt or skirt. The range runs to six colours: White, Light Blue, Light Grey, Beige, Charcoal and Black.
If you play pennant or tournaments, check your club or association rules before match day. On colour and UV, Cancer Council says a darker shade of the same fabric usually soaks up more UV than a pale pastel one. Our 2015 test covered black only, so treat white as a dress-code pick rather than a separately tested result. Our guide to whether sleeve colour matters goes further.
Plan for the parts sleeves don't cover
Sleeves are one of the five sun protection steps Cancer Council asks you to use together once the UV reaches 3: cover up, sunscreen, hat, shade and sunglasses. On court, each one needs a small adjustment:
- Hats. Visors are popular in tennis, but Cancer Council does not count a visor or cap as enough cover on its own. A bucket or broad-brimmed hat shades your ears and neck as well as your face.
- Before the warm-up, sunscreen your face, ears, the back of your neck and the backs of your hands. Top up at a set break.
- Sunglasses that stay put when you sprint for a drop shot.
- Shade at the change of ends, even if it is only an umbrella over the bench.
The strongest UV usually falls around the middle of the day, so a 7am or twilight hit is gentler than a noon match. A cool, grey morning is no guide either. The free SunSmart app shows the UV for your suburb, which tells you more than the temperature does.
Hot days on court
The fabric is thin and lets air through. Plenty of players say a sleeve that is slightly damp from sweat feels pleasant at the change of ends, especially with a breeze across the court. That is how it feels, not a change in body temperature, and it does not replace the usual hot-day habits.
On a hot day, take a proper drink at every change of ends, not only when you feel thirsty. Sit under the shade sail or umbrella rather than standing at the baseline between games. Many clubs and associations have an extreme heat policy that delays or shortens play, so know where yours is posted. If you start to feel unwell, stop and get out of the sun. For a plain look at what a cooling sleeve can and cannot do, see do cooling sleeves work?
In the racquet bag
Keep a pair in your racquet bag with your balls and spare grip, so they are always there. Follow the care label. When you get home, pull the sleeves out of the bag so they can dry, instead of leaving them zipped in with a sweaty towel until next week.
Each pair has two sleeves, one for each arm. For a doubles four, the four-pack at AUD 120 gives everyone a pair at $30 each, which is $31.80 under the cost of four single pairs. Or choose your sleeves a pair at a time.
On the drive to the club, your window arm gets the sun: the right arm in Australia, the left in the US. The driving page covers car glass and which arm to cover. If you also play golf or bowls, see our golf and lawn bowls pages.
Coaches, umpires and the people by the fence
Players are not the only ones on court for hours. A coach running back-to-back lessons can stand on a hard court from early morning to late afternoon, feeding balls from the same spot. A chair umpire or line judge at a weekend tournament sits still in the open for whole matches. Parents at junior tennis spend a Saturday morning on a bench beside the fence.
For all of them, sleeves are the easy part: they go on at the start and stay on, with nothing to reapply between lessons. Pair them with a broad-brimmed hat and a shady spot for breaks. A coach's ball cart is a handy place to keep a spare pair, so a sweaty set can be swapped at lunch.
Questions and answers
Will sun sleeves help my tennis elbow?
No. IceRays are sun sleeves, not compression sleeves or braces, and they are not a treatment for any joint problem. See your doctor or physio about a sore elbow.
Will they make my grip slippery?
The cuff sits at your wrist, so your hand and grip stay as they are. With your forearms covered, there is less sunscreen on your arms to run down onto your hands.
Can I wear a wristband with them?
Yes. A wristband can sit over the cuff. Check the cuff stays flat underneath and does not bunch.
Are sleeves allowed in club competition?
Usually the question is colour. Some clubs and grass-court events expect mainly white. Check your club or association rules, and choose White if in doubt.
Does the court surface make a difference?
ARPANSA notes that hard surfaces like concrete reflect more UV than grass or soil, so on a hard court some sun reaches you from below as well as above. Cover up the same way on any surface.
Do I still need sunscreen?
Yes, on your face, ears, neck and hands. Pair it with a broad-brimmed or bucket hat, sunglasses and shade at the change of ends.