How To Buy Tennis Shoes
By Greg Wolfe. 
Tennis is all about balance. You have to strike a balance between power and control on your shots. You have to maintain good balance when you swing. It’s critical that your footwear be properly matched to the anatomy of your feet and the surface you play on. Poor-fitting shoes can lead to blisters, ankle and knee pain, and loss of movement on the court. Because is a game of non-stop movement, the best shoes on your feet can be your most reliable teammate.
What’s Your Foot Type?
The first step in finding the right shoe is to figure out what type of foot you have. There are three basic foot types – pronated, supinated, and neutral. A simple “wet footprint” test can tell you which foot type you have. If you see a crescent-shaped footprint with little or no impression made by your arch, you have a supinated foot. Supinators tend to wear out the outside part of the sole (the lateral side) before the medial (big toe) side. Supinators also tend to have wide feet and need to look for a shoe that provides extra room in the forefoot and toe box (e.g. New Balance shoes.) Or they may need a shoe with extra cushioning to compensate for their high arches (e.g. Nike and Asics shoes.) If your foot leaves a wet mark on the floor that’s completely filled in, arch and all, you have a pronated foot. Pronators often have flat feet, and the medial portion of their shoe bottom wears down before the lateral part. People with this foot type often need extra support from their shoes so a mid-cut model or a shoe with extra stability on the medial side is usually a wise choice (e.g. Prince and K-Swiss shoes.) If you’re one of the few people who leave a wet footprint with a moderate amount of arch, you have a neutral foot. Consider yourself lucky-this is the most efficient and biomechanically versatile foot type. Players with neutral feet can play in almost any shoe. Some of the most popular choices are Adidas Barricade, Nike Air Max Breathe Cage, Asics Gel Resolution, and Babolat Shoes.
Understand the Design
The next step is understanding the shoe’s design so you can pick the one that will perform best for you. There are four parts of a shoe you need to consider:
Upper:
The top portion of the shoe, or the upper, is usually made of leather, synthetic leather, or a combination of materials. If you need extra support, look for lacing systems that thread into reinforcements going down the sides of the shoe; they’ll provide added stability. When you try a shoe on, be sure the upper is comfortable against the top of your foot and is not too tight. If you drag your toe when you serve, look for a durable toecap.
Insole:
This is the portion of the shoe that your foot rests on, and it’s the least technical part of the operation. Most shoes these days have removable insoles, allowing you to replace a worn-out insole with an over-the-counter one that provides extra cushioning, or to fit a custom orthotic.
Midsole:
The midsole is the section that lies between the shoe bottom and the insole. It’s generally made from ethyl vinyl acetate (EVA) foam or polyurethane (PU) and in many cases is supplemented by air or gel inserts. The midsole effectively supplies a shoe’s cushioning. It can often be tough to tell when the midsole breaks down and ceases to perform, but as a rule of thumb, a two- or three-day-a-week player will wear out a midsole in five to six months. Frequent players and people who are extremely aggressive on the court will go through midsoles more quickly due to the pounding they give their shoes. If your shoes don’t feel as cushioned as they did when they were new, the midsole may be shot. You should consider buying a new pair.
Outsole:
This is where the rubber meets the road. The outsole’s design affects the traction you’ll get on hard and clay courts. Herringbone designs that form a tight, wave-like pattern perform best on clay, while outsoles with the most variation in the design (a little herringbone here, a wider groove there) give you the best traction on hard courts. An outsole should also be durable enough to stand up to your style of game. If you play often or wear out shoes quickly, look for heavy-duty outsoles and try to get a pair with an outsole warranty.
Heavy or Light?
How heavy should a pair of shoes be? Well, light is nice, but heavy has its advantages, too.
The lighter your shoes, the faster you can zip around the court. So why are shoes almost always heavier than running shoes? The stop-and-start demands of require that shoes have ample cushioning, extra support, and more durable outsoles, all of which add weight.
In an effort to lighten up their shoes, manufacturers often use an hourglass-shaped outsole design for some models. But this may move the shoe’s flex point toward the middle of the shoe, near your arch, rather than at the ball of the foot, where your foot naturally bends. (To test a shoe’s flex point, hold it firmly around the heel in one hand and press the palm of your other hand against the sole at the toe end. Notice where the shoe bends. If it’s back toward the arch, you could have problems with support and stability.)
Only you can decide how much weight you’re willing to live with in the name of increased stability and durability. Consider owning two pairs of shoes: a lighter game-day shoe and a heavier training shoe (this technique has been used by distance runners for years). If you practice in a heavier shoe and play your matches in a lighter shoe, you’ll feel quicker in competition and you’ll go through your shoes more slowly while you’re at it.
Greg Wolfe, Midwest Sports a Cincinnati-based tennis outlet that has served as one of the world’s largest tennis suppliers for more than 20 years.
