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
§ Your foot type
§ Your style of play
§ Court type
As tennis can be quite jarring to the body and puts considerable pressure on the ankles and knees it is important to find a shoe which will suit you and your game.
Your foot type
There are three different foot types
§ pronated – soles will tend to wear most on the inside
§ supinated – soles will tend to wear mostly on the outside.
§ neutral – soles will wear evenly (this is the least common foot type)
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.
If your feet are pronated you also need a degree of lateral support within the shoe to protect yourself.
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.
PDHSports.com now stocks an extensive range of men’s tennis shoes, ladies’ tennis shoes and junior tennis shoes. We are authorised retailers of all key tennis shoe brands – our range includes K-Swiss tennis shoes (including the highly durable K-Swiss Defier RS), Babolat tennis shoes, Head tennis shoes, Asics tennis shoes (including the highly regarded Gel Resolution 2) and Nike tennis shoes.
If you would like more advice about buying tennis shoes contact us on 01332 843139 or paul@pdhsports.com.