Tennis Shoes

No longer a game for the gentleman alone, tennis is now a sport of the masses. Men, women, and children are serving the tennis ball. Adequate footwear is essential, even for the infrequent player. Wearing improper shoes can cause severe injuries.

Tennis Shoes vs. Sneakers

While the term “tennis shoe” seems to apply to all athletic shoes, in reality each shoe is custom designed for a sport. Running shoes are built for straight movement. On the contrary, the tennis player needs a stability shoe to accommodate side to side motion. While a cross-training shoe that is designed for both straight forward movement and side to side motion may seem like a logical choice, the tennis shoe has superior support mechanisms to protect the player.

Tennis Shoes

How to Pick the Perfect Tennis Shoe

In order to pick out the perfect shoe for your tennis needs, you’ll want to take into account the surface of the court, your body type, and the specific shoe design. This will ensure that you get a shoe that will aid your game because there are each shoe is built for specific conditions. You need a shoe that fits properly to prevent injury, and protect the court. While there are many types of court surfaces, for our purposes we will break it down into hard courts (indoor courts and concrete) and soft courts (grass and clay).

When playing on a hard court you want to use a durable shoe with a sole resistant to wear and tear. The harder court surface will break down a shoe faster, decreasing traction on the court and potentially causing injury. You’ll also want to look at a shoe that has extra coverage over the big toes. Especially during the serve, a player will often drag the big toe across the court. While the sole is usually the point of the most wear in a tennis shoe, the upper material will sometimes suffer in that section of the big toe.

On a soft court, you have to be careful of damaging the court itself. In fact, many of the soft courts will not allow people to play on them if not wearing proper shoes. While you want something with good traction to keep from sliding, you need to be certain that the sole of your shoe is fairly smooth. Large knobs and bumps on the bottom of the sole will gouge the court and cause expensive damage to it while creating an unsafe area for you to play on. The benefit of playing on a soft court is that your shoes will likely last much longer.

Your body type will also help to determine what type of shoe is best for you. You want to make sure you have properly fitting shoes to prevent rotating your ankles and blistering. Look for shoes that are well cushioned and have wicking ability to remove moisture from the cushioning.

You’ll also want to look to your feet. Most people have pronated feet which mean that they tend to roll inward more than necessary. Often times, these people have narrower feet and smaller arches. You can tell if your feet pronate by looking at the shoes you wear most often. If the areas of most wear on them are on the outside part of the heel, then your feet pronate. This is a common problem as 60-70% of the population have feet that roll in. If you pronate, buy a stability shoe rather than a heavily cushioned pair.

Stability shoes

Another common foot problem is supination, or pigeon-toed, wearing the most on the outer edge of both the heel and forefoot of the shoe. Of the population, 20-30% are pigeon-toed. You can help this by buying a heavily cushioned pair of shoes.

The remainder of the population, about 10%, have neutral feet, and wear their shoes evenly from heel to toe. Everyone should buy the proper shoe for their foot type.

Neutral athletic shoes

Testing your Tennis Shoe

Once you have a pair that will fit your personal needs, test the flex point before purchasing. The flex point is the part of the shoe where the sole bends most easily. This should be at the ball of the foot; where your foot naturally bends. To test the flex point, hold the shoe between your palms with the tip of the toe touching one palm and the heel touching the other palm. Gently press inward and watch to see where the sole flexes. Of the upper material on the shoe, durability is less important than your personal comfort. It is far more likely that the sole of the shoe will wear out before the upper material does. Leather shoes give good support and stay drier in off court areas, but tend to be heavier. A vinyl shoe will also give good support and resist external moisture, but it doesn’t breathe well so sweat is trapped inside. A canvas shoe is lightweight and breathes the best, but is the least durable of the three.

Purchasing Tennis Shoes

Be prepared to spend at least $40 on a pair of shoes, and if you want them to last many seasons of play expect that price to at least double. While it is possible to spend over $100 dollars, it is not necessary. Once you have decided to play tennis, play it safe and be certain to purchse the proper footwear to prevent injury.

If you want to look fashionable at the country club you may also enjoy buying golf shoes.