Looking for the best tennis shoes for your tennis play? Tennis players like to speak about their rackets, grip, strings, and racket weight. How it helps their play and how it makes them better players. They do not speak so much about the rest of their equipment or wear. However, it influences their play in a big way too. You should not underestimate the impact of tennis shoes on overall performance on a court.
Contents
Different surfaces require different shoes
Tennis Shoes for Grass Courts
Tennis Shoes for Clay Courts
Tennis Shoes for Hard Courts
All Courts Tennis Shoes
Tennis Shoes of Professional Players or Who wears what shoes
Check also the best of:
Asics tennis shoes – Wilson tennis shoes – Adidas tennis shoes – Babolat tennis shoes – Fila tennis shoes – Lotto tennis shoes – Yonex tennis shoes – Head tennis shoes – K-Swiss tennis shoes – New Balance tennis shoes – Nike tennis shoes
My favourite tennis shoes:
Asics Court FF2
K-Swiss Hypercourt Supreme
Adidas Barricade
Check the prices of the best tennis shoes here.
Different surfaces require different shoes
True is, the quality of shoes makes a big difference. Different surfaces require different tennis shoes. Just with the right tennis shoes, you will play your best tennis ever.
An important factor in your decision is the surface you play the most. Clay, Hard, and Grass have different attributes and therefore shoes have to be different. Playing mostly on clay will impose different parameters you have to consider compared to playing on a hard surface. So before choosing the right shoes, you have to draw a playing plan. Depending on the surface of your „home“ tennis court you should use specific shoes for a particular surface.
Best tennis players have more pairs of shoes for every surface. Even recreational players should have at least one pair for every surface they play on. It will prolong the life of your shoes and give you more comfort in playing.
Best Tennis Shoes for the Grass Court
The grass is the least used surface on the ATP tour. There are not so many grass courts out there, so not many recreational players are used to playing on this surface.
The ball stays low and moves fast on the grass. Professional players on grass are using a serve-and-volley style more often than on other courts. The Speed of the ball can be used to their advantage with this style. Players need to move fast to the net and shoes have to be able to provide comfort in such moves.
The grip of shoes has to be good because grass can be slippery. The outsole has to be flatter, as grass courts can be easily damaged. The upper of the boot has to be flexible not to obstruct your run forward to the net and the ball.
Tennis shoes for grass do not need to have heavy and durable outsoles. The grass is softer and does not wear the outsoles so much.
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|---|---|---|
| ADIDAS | ASICS | ASICS |
| Barricade Grass Tennis Men's Shoes | Gel-Resolution 7 Grass Women's Tennis Shoes | Gel-Resolution 6 Grass Men's Tennis Shoes |
| CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
Best Tennis Shoes for the Clay Court
Clay and Hard are the most used surfaces in professional and recreational tennis. There are plenty of possibilities when buying tennis shoes for clay. To choose the best tennis shoes for the clay you have to think about the movements you make when playing on clay.
You will move from side to side on the clay court and also use slide much more often than on other surfaces. Therefore your clay tennis shoes should have durable sides to withstand slides for a ball.
The shoe grip and design of the outsole are very important on clay. It should offer great traction but on the other side should not leave marks on a court. Grooves should release the clay and not keep it. Otherwise, you will risk slipping on every run and you will direct a lot of effort to not falling instead of playing a ball. Eventually, you would have to beat the clay out of shoes with rackets between the exchanges.
Ankle sprains are usually clay-related injuries. Just the best tennis shoes with the parameters discussed above can save you from needless foot injuries. Lateral support and the tight upper of the shoe will keep your feet in comfort during your movement along the baseline and slide to the sides when reaching for a ball.
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|---|---|---|
| ADIDAS | ASICS | ASICS |
| Performance Men's Barricade Club Tennis Shoes | Women's GEL-Solution Speed 3 Tennis Shoe | Men's Gel-solution Speed 3 Tennis Shoe |
| Torsion System ADIPREN for extra cushioning under heel | Rearfoot and Forefoot GEL Cushioning System PGuard Toe Protector Flexion Fit Upper | Rearfoot and Forefoot GEL Cushioning System PGuard Toe Protector Flexion Fit Upper |
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Best Tennis Shoes for the Hard Court
Hard courts can be blue or green, but the colour is the least important factor when choosing the right shoes. Hard courts can be slow, fast, or faster. Frankly, you hardly find two same hard courts in the world. It can have some taraflex or concrete with just a rubber carpet on it. However, for simplicity we will apply the term „hard court“to the average hard court you will find in your local tennis club.
Hard courts wear away your outsoles the most. You will need a durable and strong outsole on your shoe. The grip is not so important, as hard courts are not slippery. You will not make many slides on hard, so the sides of your shoes are not be such strong as on clay shoes.
Tennis play on a hard court strains your knuckles and heels more than on other court surfaces. Therefore best tennis shoes for hard courts will take special care of your feet. They will have special cushioning for the heel, which will reduce the shock and chance of injury.
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|---|---|---|
| NEW BALANCE | ADIDAS | ADIDAS |
| Men's MC806 Stability Tennis Shoe | Performance Women's Barricade V Classic W Tennis Shoe | Women's Barricade Court Tennis Shoese |
| -align:center;">ABZORB cushioning C-CAP midsole | Adiprene plus foam Torsion System AdiTuff System | Adiprene 3D Torsion System Adiwear Outsole |
| CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
All Court Tennis Shoes
However, recreational players often use one pair of shoes for every surface. If you choose this route, then you should be aware of the limits of the shoes on every surface. Otherwise, you will be challenged by many unwanted slips during a game.
 |  |
|---|---|
| BABOLAT | WILSON |
| SFX2 All Court Black/Blue Men's Shoes | Kaos Womens Tennis Shoe |
| CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
Best tennis shoes for women
Currently, there is no difference between the technologies used in tennis shoes for women and men. The same high-tech ideas and materials are used for everyone. So the difference usually lies in details.
Women usually look not just at the technical features of the shoe but also at the design. Women’s Tennis shoes have to click with the rest of the tennis equipment they use.
Best tennis shoes for men
Men usually like to have all possible technologies included in their tennis shoes. Leg stability and feeling would always have a bigger impact than a fashion look. However, even they look sometimes on the colours of the shoes 🙂
Tennis shoes of professional players
Watching your favourite tennis player on TV is always inspirational for any recreational player. You can learn a lot from their plays, strokes, and movement on the court. But as much as you can learn, so you can inspire yourself by watching the equipment your favourite player uses.
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|---|---|---|
| NIKE | ASICS | ADIDAS |
| Men's Zoom Vapor 9.5 Tour Tennis Shoes | Gel Resolution 7 Novak Djokovic Mens Tennis Shoe | ASMC Barricade Women’s Tennis Shoes |
| Collaboration between Roger Federer and well-known Nike designer Tinker Hatfield | Novak Djokovic flagship tennis shoes | Stella McCartney design series, weared also by Garbine Muguruza |
| CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON | CHECK PRICE ON AMAZON |
Let’s have a short look at what shoes tennis pros wear on courts during the season. Once dominant brands Nike and Adidas are under strong pressure from newcomers like Under Armour or New Balance.
Between ATP top players, Adidas shoes are worn by Kei Nishikori, Dominic Thiem, and Tomas Berdych. Nike has under contract two living and playing legends Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and Asics just lately signed Novak Djokovic.
New Balance shoes are worn by Milos Raonic and Under Armour, and shoes are worn by Andy Murray.
Between WTA top players, Nike is definitely the top brand with the Williams sisters wearing their top products. Simone Halep signed a contract with Nike recently. Also, Czech and Slovak top players, Petra Kvitova and Dominika Cibulkova walk on the court in Nike shoes. Adidas shoes are proudly worn by Angelique Kerber and Sabine Muguruza.
That is for inspiration. Shoes good for the best tennis players cannot be bad for you as well.
NIKE | ADIDAS | NEW BALANCE | ASICS | YONEX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dominic Thiem | Milos Raonic | Novak Djokovic | Stan Wawrinka |
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Our summary
You should have at least two pairs of shoes for tennis season even if you play on the same surface every time. Use different kinds of shoes with different key features for different court surfaces. Keep in mind your leg safety and do not use clay shoes for play on hard courts and vice versa.
Check the prices of the best tennis shoes here.
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Hi! I am having trouble finding shoes that don’t squeeze the sides of my feet. I was looking for wide women’s shoes and tried New Balance width D but they were too narrow. I am looking for shoes that really run wide. Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. Thank you!
Hi, I can imagine how annoying it is. Sorry, but it is hard to give you any advice. I would go to store with the widest selection of different tennis shoes and spend a lot of time with testing everything they have. If you find one which fits, that is your choice forever. It is hard to buy over the net, with any off chart size.
great article very informative and well written.
Picking shoes is a personal choice and I guess we all have different feet.
Surface plays a part in which sole you select but fundamentally this is the only thing that changes. Pick the shoes you feel most comfortable with and remember – buy cheap you will buy twice
Just to update things on what the pros wear, Novak Djokovic contract with Adidas ended last year and he’s now got a contract with Asics, he’s been using them since the Eastbourne tournament.
Andy Murray’s Under Armour shoes are exclusive to him, as UA have yet to develop Tennis shoes for general sale. But as they’ve announced they’re pulling out of Tennis products altogether, that won’t happen now.
Hi Darren, many thanks, I missed the news about Novak and Asics collaboration (now fixed on the page). I remember he switched from Uniqlo to Lacoste too. Also, Simone Halep signed the new contract with Nike after Australian Open.
I really like Asics Gel Court, they are the best tennis shoes on the market. Heel pain, Achilles pain, lower leg pain vanish with these shoes. Light, low to the ground and solid. The cushioning is perfect and the sock liner holds your foot perfectly. Buy these.