What Are Tennis Shoes?

Tennis requires agility, speed and strength. You use both your upper and lower body in tennis and build both cardiovascular fitness and lean muscle mass when you play regularly. Tennis clubs and tournaments have dress codes, which vary in stringency. Light comfortable clothing helps you stay cool and move around, and sturdy tennis shoes keep your feet from tiring and help prevent injuries.

Origins

Tennis shoes got their start as all-purpose high-top canvas shoes that laced up and had rubber soles. Plimsole was an early brand of these shoes. Lawn tennis shoes in the 1800s featured rubber soles because players needed a good grip on grass lawn courts. Both track and field and early football footwear evolved from this basic design. Adidas was one of the first designers and manufacturers of sports-specific shoes, introducing tennis shoes into the marketplace in 1931. Their track and field shoes accompanied Jesse Owens to his victories in the 1936 Olympic Games. Today, Adidas offers reintroductions of classic Adidas tennis shoe models, such as those worn by famed Australian champion Rod Laver and U.S. champion Stan Smith.

Soles

Natural or synthetic rubber on the soles of tennis shoes prevents you from slipping on the court. The sudden starts and stops necessary in tennis put stress on your ankle and knee joints, so having a tennis shoe appropriate for the surface is important. Smooth pliant soles work well on clay courts where sliding towards a ball is an option. Hard courts require sturdy durable soles because the constant friction between the surface and the bottom of your foot wears the material down quickly.

Uppers

Tennis shoe materials evolved from simple canvas tops with little lateral support to highly designed and specialized pieces of gear that function to cushion your foot and stabilize you on the court. You use a side-to-side motion in tennis, so shoes should provide you with stability and support to avoid injury. Manufacturers use leather, canvas, plastic and nylon in differing combinations on tennis shoe uppers. Canvas is breathable and lightweight, and leather provides comfort and durability.

Considerations

Casual or occasional players manage well with a general sports shoe. Some clubs require specialized tennis shoes to avoid marking up or damaging court surfaces. You might select a different shoe for clay courts in hot tropical climates versus cool climate hard-court play. Hard-court shoes take a beating and wear down in a few months if you play often.