How To Buy Tennis Shoes

When buying a tennis shoe there are several factors to consider in addition to size and price. Some of the other key factors to think about when buying tennis shoes are:

1. Your foot type

2. Your style of play

3. Tennis court surface

As tennis can be quite jarring to the body and puts considerable pressure on the ankles and knees it is important to find the right tennis shoe which will suit you and your game.

Your foot type

There are three different foot types

1. pronated soles will tend to wear most on the inside

2. supinated soles will tend to wear mostly on the outside

3. neutral soles will wear evenly (this is the least common foot type)

If your feet are pronated you need a degree of lateral support within the shoe to protect yourself. If your feet are supinated the right level of cushioning and protection is critical to prevent ankle rollover/injury. You may also prefer a shoe which has a higher cut.

Your style of play

If you are a baseline player you will be more likely to need a tennis shoe which has built in lateral support as you move from side to side along the back line of the court.

Serve and volley players will need a shoe which has a suitable level of reinforcement in the toe to handle any potential sliding of the back foot along the court at serve.

Court type

If you are playing on a hard tennis court surface the durability, cushioning and shock-absorption of the shoe will be a key consideration. Softer court types such as grass and clay do tend to be more forgiving so you may not require such a durable tennis shoe.

Different court surfaces need different tennis shoes

All Court Tennis Shoes: These can be use on all types of courts and most customers choose these. They have a herringbone grip pattern.

Carpet Court (Indoor) Tennis Shoes: These shoes have smooth soles and must only be used on indoor carpet courts. 

Grass Court and OMNI Court Tennis Shoes: These are designed for good grip on artificial (or real) grass courts and hard courts.

Clay Court Shoes: Suitable for clay courts, but can be worn on any surface.

Generally we advise that a shoe with a RRP less than £60 will be appropriate for the occasional player. Anyone playing at least two or three times per week should look at tennis shoes with £60+ RRP as they will be more advanced offering extra built in cushioning and stability.