What are the best tennis shoes? This is the most common question asked about tennis footwear and can leave a recreational player in a state of utter confusion. Even the largest brands Nike and Adidas provide multiple shoe lines with all kinds of strange features and new technologies. In reality all these different features boil down to a few general qualities that any good tennis shoe will always have.
Tennis is a sport that puts unique pressures on different points of a shoe, causing wear and tear in the outsole in many different places. For different players and their tendencies, these spots can vary widely. It isn’t uncommon to see holes appearing in the side of your tennis shoe from some weird foot dragging. The key is to pick a shoe that has all of these things in mind and a brand that has plenty of expertise with the way tennis players wear out shoes.
The Outsole and Various Durability Technologies
Nike boasts about their DragOn technology that supposedly increases durability. The shoes Nike has produced lately certainly are lasting longer, but they are also becoming a lot heavier. It isn’t some major technological breakthrough that adding more stronger material to a shoes outsole is going to increase durability. The other major competitor, Adidas, is well known and sought after for their durability.
Current trends have really pushed the two brands closer together, producing sets of shoes that are quite durable and also much heavier than normal. Another common factor in the outsole is the tread pattern seen on the bottom of the shoe. Different tread patterns can provide better traction on certain surfaces. A herringbone pattern is the most common one and will be seen on most specialized tennis shoes. Herringcone patterns are also the best choice when considering a clay court shoe.
The Best Tennis Shoes Available Today
Currently the best products are coming from the Adidas and Nike lines. The Novak Djokovic shoes come from Adidas and are one of the most popular pairs among top players on the tour. Nike’s Courtballistec line is also a huge hit. These are the two most popular models and also are incredibly similar to one another.
As far as durability, support, and performance either of these shoes is an excellent choice. In terms of comfort, complaints have come from the stiff upper material on Nike’s model. The material tends to cause a cutting pain in the ankle area and can actually take a long break in period before the shoes are worn in enough to play comfortably. This significant discomfort puts the Adidas line way out in front.
The best tennis shoes for men today are definitely coming from the Adidas line. The current model of the Barricade is great, though some of the previous ones may have even been better. It’s harder to find older and outdated shoe models since the companies cycle them out for newest thing so often. If you can find an old pair of the Barricade II, these are probably the highest quality tennis shoes that have been produced. Otherwise, go ahead and try out the most recent Adidas Barricade 6.o.