We apply a recently developed dispersive formalism to calculate the Regge trajectories of the $f_2(1270)$ and $f_2(1525)$ mesons. Trajectories are calculated, not fitted to a family of resonances. Assuming that these spin-2 resonances can be treated in the elastic approximation the only input are the pole position and residue of the resonances. In both cases, the predicted Regge trajectories are almost real and linear, with slopes in agreement with the universal value of order 1 GeV$^{-2}$.