Tennis Shoes Guide: Types and How to Choose the Perfect Pair

Tennis is an active physical sport that involves quick starts, sudden stops, and a lot of lateral movement. Therefore, your feet have to bear the brunt of the abuse. Wearing tennis shoes is essential to prevent foot injury.

Tennis-specific shoes are engineered to provide maximum lateral support, durability, and traction to help you play safely.

In this guide, I will discuss tennis shoes, their types, and how to find the perfect pair for your needs.

Besides choosing the right tennis shoes for performance and safety, it’s also crucial to maintain them properly. Learn how to remove smell from shoes to keep your tennis footwear fresh and in top condition

What are Tennis Shoes?

Tennis shoes are designed for quick and short forward, backward, and side-to-side movements, offering more lateral stability, support, and traction to the tennis player on the court.

Usually, gum rubber soles are used in tennis shoes to avoid marking the courts while playing.

Why Do You Need Tennis Shoes?

Tennis requires quick forward, backward, and lateral (side-to-side) movements, all of which can be brutal on your body.

Wearing unsuitable shoes, such as running shoes designed for forward movement without lateral support, can lead to reduced performance or even injury.

Therefore, it is important to wear shoes suitable for tennis. These shoes are specifically designed to provide the support, stability, cushioning, and traction needed while playing on the court.

Types of Tennis Shoes

There are three main types of tennis surfaces: grass, clay, and hard court. Different tennis shoes are suitable for these surfaces, and they are classified as:

1. Grass Court Tennis Shoes:

1. The outsole of these shoes features nubs or pimples to provide a good grip on grass surfaces (both natural and artificial).
2. The outsoles are flatter to reduce damage to the court.
3. The sole has less cushioning than normal tennis shoes due to the cushioned nature of grass courts.
4. The upper part of the shoes is made flexible to prevent foot constraint during forward movement.

2. Hard Court Tennis Shoes:

1. These shoes are considered universal and can be used on both clay and grass courts, though they are not the best option for these surfaces.
2. They have a durable outsole and reinforced toe cap to handle hard court surfaces.
3. Extra cushioning is provided to absorb shock when your feet come in contact with the ground.
4. These shoes are designed with more durability, tough uppers, and a partial herringbone pattern for traction on the court.

3. Clay Court Tennis Shoes:

1. These shoes have a full herringbone (zigzag) tread pattern on the outsole, making them exceptional for grip on clay courts. This pattern prevents clay from lodging in the outsole, providing better traction during starts, stops, and direction changes.
2. They have a tighter-knit upper that adds stability and prevents soil from entering the shoes.

How to Choose the Right Type of Tennis Shoes?

Know Your Playing Style:

Understanding how you play tennis helps you find the best type of shoes for you. There are three main playing styles in tennis:

1. Baseline Players:

Typically play from the backline of the court, involving a lot of short sprints and lateral movements. Look for shoes with a lot of lateral support and durable soles.

2. Serve and Volley Players:

Require lightweight, flexible shoes with toe caps, as this style involves a lot of quick forward and backward movements.

3. All-Court Players:

Look for lightweight, durable shoes with good grip, as this style requires plenty of back-and-forth and side-to-side movements.

Foot Type:

Determine the type and shape of your foot with a simple wet test. Wet your foot and step on a piece of paper. The imprint characteristics determine your foot type:

Every player has a unique foot shape, but there are some general categories that most people fall into.

1. Neutral Arc ( normal)
2. Low Arc ( pronated)
3. High Arc (Supination)

1. Neutral Arch (Ideal):

If you look at the outsole of your shoes and notice even wear all around, you have one of the rare ideal foot types. Players with this type of foot can choose any shoes as long as they are comfortable.

2. Low Arch (Pronated):

Inward rotation of the foot with a lot of wear on the inside of the sole and around the ball of the foot. Look for shoes with maximum arch support, lateral support, cushioning, and stability.

3. High Arch (Supinated):

Outward rotation of the foot with a lot of outsole wear along the outside of the heel. Look for shoes with good arch support, plenty of cushioning, and maximum durability.

Types of Playing Surface:

Choose shoes suitable for the surface you are playing on:

1. Clay Court:

Shoes should have a herringbone pattern for excellent grip on slippery surfaces.

2. Hard Court:

Shoes with a highly durable sole, extra cushioning, and shock absorption are needed to withstand the impact of hard surfaces.

3. Grass Court:

Shoes with small pimples on the sole prevent sliding on the grass surface.

Finding the Right Fit:

Every tennis player has unique feet; therefore, knowing the length and width of your feet can help you find shoes that perfectly fit your anatomy.

Follow the below-mentioned steps to measure your foot length and width.

Step:1

Take a piece of paper and place it on a hard flat surface

Step 2:

Wear the shocks you plan to wear while playing tennis and place one foot on a piece of paper.

Step 3:

Shift your body weight on your foot and trace a thin line around the outsole of the entire foot. Keep your pen perpendicular to the surface while drawing the line.

Step 4:

Now, with the ruler, measure vertically down the length and horizontally across the widest part of your foot, tracing this, which is the length and width of your foot.

Once you have determined your foot length and width, compare them with the size chart.

Conclusion

Tennis shoes are one of the most important pieces of equipment for the safety of the player’s feet, as they are made for quick and short forward, backward, and side-to-side movements.

Finding the right shoes for your playing style is essential for better performance and injury prevention. How do you choose your tennis shoes? Let me know in the comments section.