Whether you call them tennis shoes or tennis trainers, specially designed footwear for the game provides support and shock absorption. Tennis shoes keep your feet cool and comfortable to execute a full range of tennis shots and keep you moving fast around the tennis court. All Court Tennis Shoes:
Carpet Court 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 (Herringbone): Suitable for Clay Courts, the Herringbone sole allows you to slide, without your shoes getting filled with clay. This type of shoe can also be worn on artifical grass (sand based) courts.
For more information, check out our buying guide 'How to buy tennis shoes'
Which trainers are best for tennis?
Every player has a different favourite pair of tennis shoes. All the leading brands offer great comfort, fit, technical features and grip. You'll find that some brands and styles suit your feet and your styles of play better. Every year we test dozens of pairs and come up with a shortlist of our favourite tennis trainers. To help you decide which ones are your perfect (tennis) match, we highlight the top benefits of different shoes on our website - for example, tennis shoes that are best for support, are very lightweight or are good for wider feet. You might also want to think about where you play tennis. Some tennis shoes are intended to be used on different surfaces - grass courts, artifical courts or clay courts. Most of our customers choose all court tennis shoes, which give you good all-round performance on every surface.
Can you use sneakers/running shoes or even Stan Smith, Skechers, Nike Air Max, Air Force Ones, trainers, Vans or basketball shoes for tennis or do you need special tennis shoes?
If you're trying out tennis for the first time, you'll be fine in general purpose sports trainers. But as for most sports, once you've decided you're ready to commit and raise your game, it's a good idea to invest in some proper tennis footwear. Shoes designed especially for tennis will give you better support, stability and comfort than general purpose trainers while you're playing, because they've been built and test for the job. We recommend that you avoid fashion trainers - they are made for style not function, so they don't usually offer the secure grip you need when moving around a tennis court. Take a look at our range of tennis shoes where you'll find a style to suit your pocket and your level of experience. There are plenty of cool-looking colourways and designs as well.
How do you choose a tennis shoe?
Choose a tennis shoe that's comfortable and suitable for the surface you're playing on. All court tennis shoes perform well on a range of surfaces but yoi can buy specifically designed tennis shoes for grass, clay or artifical courts. Look for good supports and shock absorption for stbility and to reduce the risk of strains and twists. Cushioning will keep you comfortable and help you avoid blisters. Grippy soles are essential to stop you from skidding when you're powering around the court and stopping or changing direction fast.
Do tennis shoes have to be white?
Are you competing in the British Lawn Tennis Association's Wimbledon Championships at the All England Club? If so, your tennis shoes will need to be mainly white, to comply with the strict rules. (And congratulations on qualifying!) Other tournaments are more relaxes about the colour of your shoes - even in the professional game. For the rest of us, if you're playing in amateur tournaments or just for fitness and fun, your tennis shoes can be any colour you like.
Can you jog in tennis shoes?
Good quality tennis shoes have many of the features runners look for - cushioning and support for comfort over long periods of wear. But tennis trainers and tennis shoes are designed specifically for the demands of the tennis game, which means fast change of direction, stopping and starting, jumping and explosive bursts of speed. Leading manufacturers build in technical features that supports the foot and make these movements easier. If you're an occassional jogger, your tennis shoes wil do fine for a run, but if you are a regular runner, we recommend choosing some running shoes as well as your trusty tennis trainers.
What shoes does Roger Federer wear?
For the 2021-22 season, Roger Federer wore his own range of tennis shoes designed by Swiss brand On. Although we don't stock On shoes at pdhsports, we'd love to recommend Roger a pair of K-Swiss tennis shoes that celebrate his national origins just as well, in our view - and they're rather more competitively priced! We do stock ASICS tennis trainers endorsed by Novak Djokovic if you're looking for celebrity footwear inspiration.
What makes a good tennis shoe?
Our tennis experts agree that comfort, stability, grip and supports are the key characteristics of good tennis shoes. We recommend trusted brands like Adidas, Asics, Babolat and K-Swiss, because they're well designed, popular and high quality, so they'll last you many matches. For novice players, try a basic, good value tennis shoe with standard features. More advanced players will want to consider refund tennis shoe features that suit the surface you play on, your style of play and your foot type. Our buying guide to tennis shoes gives you all the details of how to shortlist and choose the ultimate tennis footwear for your needs.
If you are unsure about your size or would like more information, please refer to our size guides or call one of our tennis experts in store 9am - 5pm Monday to Friday on 01332 843139.
