TENNIS SHOES--CAVEAT EMPTOR! {2010}

By Vince Chiarelli, PTR, MRT and Owner of String Along With Vince in Largo

For those who don’t remember their high school Latin, “Buyer Beware” is what you need to remember when shopping for tennis shoes.

It amazes me how many customers come into the store saying that they can’t find tennis shoes anywhere. I’m also amazed that the majority of people I talk with don’t know the difference between tennis shoes and other “court shoes.” I’ve even been told by some customers that they went to a big box sporting goods outlet or department store and been sold shoes they were told were tennis shoes and later found out they weren’t true tennis shoes!

Court shoes and cross-trainer court shoes are NOT made for playing tennis. You may say to yourself, “Self, since tennis is played on a court, why wouldn’t court shoes be good for tennis?” That’s a very good question; I’m glad you brought it up.

For an answer I turned to my rep at K-Swiss, Tom Layton. K-Swiss, as you may or may not know, actually started out with a tennis shoe, in the same way New Balance and Nike started out with running shoes. According to Tom, what’s important in tennis is lateral and medial support. Court shoes, even basketball shoes, don’t have the same support. Think about it; what other sport do you know that requires the bursts of speed and side-to-side movement that are required in tennis? Using shoes other than the proper ones can easily allow your ankle to roll over, potentially causing severe injury. Additionally, the soles on court shoes aren’t as durable as on real tennis shoes.

The shoes we require for tennis have extra cushioning designed into them to help protect our knees, ankles, hips, and the rest of the body. Without that support, a very important necessity for our sport-- “wheels”--will be affected, and once the wheels go, the game goes with them.

Another aspect of playing tennis is different surfaces. After checking with most of the manufacturers of tennis shoes, they assure me that a true tennis shoe will work on both hard and clay (Har-Tru®) surfaces. The soles have a smoother surface profile that allows you to slide more easily, while giving you traction when you need it. Most court shoes have much larger bumps and cleats on the soles making them too rough for clay courts. Clubs with clay courts throughout Florida, unless they don’t care about their courts, will not let you play without proper tennis shoes.

My thanks to Tom, and remember, protect your body. Wear the right shoes for comfort and safety.

COPYRIGHT 2010