The 2017 US Open got off to a fine start yesterday and although Jo Konta has been knocked out there are still many reasons to continue to watch!  One woman who has been climbing the rankings in recent years is the Venezuelan Garbine Muguruza, she is currently ranked number 3 in the world.  She is currently involved in a clothing collaboration with Adidas and Pharrell Williams who has designed her kit for the tournament.  What is of interest is her footwear, which are the Adidas Adizero Ubersonic 3 Pharrell Women’s shoes.

These have been fashioned on ‘old school styling’ but reworked for the modern game.  This is apparent in the colour blocking, style and design of the shoe.  It has a seamless bootee upper but also has a ‘Sprintframe’ construction which is meant to give some stability which is paramount for the types of movements produced on the tennis court.  3D Torsion and geometrical chassis provide adaptive midfoot support and Adiprene+ gives cushioning and forefoot propulsion The outer sole is a durable rubber perfect for hardcourt surfaces.

 So, if you are not a top ten player and don’t have the luxury of having a shoe made for you, what should you look for in an appropriate tennis shoe? You can start by considering the surface you are playing on a clay court shoe is quite different from a hard-court shoe.  What type of player are you, baseline or serve vollyer?  Baseline players need increased lateral support and serve volleyers need increased toe cap support and medial arch support.  If you are a bit of both, then there is footwear out there that can serve both purposes.

 Once you have determined surface and your style of play, then you need to think about your foot type, this is a complex question to answer in some cases.  You cannot answer this question just by looking at your foot posture!  Therefore, it might be worth getting assessed dynamically and objectively.  We at the London Podiatry Centre can dynamically assess you and determine with a degree of objectivity how your foot moves and thus can give you a better idea on which tennis shoe model would be best for you.  We also offer a shoe test in which we can dynamically test you in different shoes to see again which one is the best for you.