It’s time to get up to speed with the Toronto Tempo after the WNBA expansion team revealed its inaugural home and away jerseys on Tuesday.
The Tempo is the latest addition to the North American women’s hoops circuit, which has seen a rapid increase in popularity over the past few years.
With the team set to take the floor in 2026, the Tempo revealed its look — to much praise from fans on social media.
The team’s home jerseys are white while the away uniforms are “Tempo Bordeaux” — a shade of red with purple undertones that appears to be a subtle nod to the Raptors. The lettering on the jerseys also has Borealis Blue outlining.
“We knew we wanted something that was really classic and that could live on for a long amount of time,” Tempo chief marketing officer Whitney Bell told the Canadian Press of the uniforms. “So with the colours and the design, we wanted to feel modern, bold, but also something that people would really enjoy wearing every day as a fashion statement.”
‘Unique’ speed lines pay homage to Toronto
Both jerseys feature six speed lines down the sides of the tops. That detail represents Toronto’s six boroughs and also the five players on the court and the fabled “sixth player” — the fans.
“(The speed lines were) are something that I think sets us apart. It’s really unique about our team,” Bell said. “It speaks to the word Tempo itself as well.
“Specifically on the (away jersey), it’s on both of them, but I think having those bright blue lines on top of the Tempo Bordeaux is really beautiful, and just the change in the width and the flow of them speaks to that dynamic nature of our name and the game itself.”
Kept jerseys secret for a year
Toronto was awarded a WNBA expansion franchise in May 2024 and the team announced its name, logo and colour scheme last December. But while the jerseys had actually been designed in November 2024, the franchise was able to keep them under wraps until now.
“It’s tough to hold on to it for over a year, we see all the time that jerseys get leaked and people seem to know them, so that was a bit daunting,” Bell said. “And then from the time we designed them to when we saw the first physical samples was like half a year, so you almost forget.
“Then it’s like a pleasant surprise when you get to see them again.”
This isn’t it for the Tempo, however, as far as jersey reveals go. Each WNBA team has their traditional home and away kits, but also a third alternate “Rebel” jersey. The Tempo didn’t comment on plans for its alternate look.
“Reppin the 6 boroughs, the fans, and the subway lines!! We are 6ix through and through!!” one fan replied on X.
“I’ll definitely be purchasing one,” another wrote.