On the weekend I watched a young player slip over on Synthetic Grass during the warm up for his match. Synthetic Grass has a layer of sand over it making it slippery. He slipped because of his shoes. He was wearing his 2 month old, hard court shoes. He had left his grass court shoes at home this time. After falling and taking some skin off he forfeited the match in the warm up!

(in an upcoming article I talk about what you SHOULD do if you injure yourself in a match)

Amazing, you can do all this training and practice and something simple like keeping 2 pairs of shoes in your bag can determine how well you play. Simple really! I personally always have both sets of shoes in my bag. Even if I am playing a ‘hard court tournament’ I will bring my grass court shoes just in case. Why? Well I know that if there is a delay sometimes other ‘outside’ courts are used. This may mean different tennis centers are used and potentially they can be a different surface.

Be strict with yourself. Never wear your grass court shoes on a hard surface – not even once. The hard courts just strip the tread off – you want maximum grip when you need it.

So why different shoes?

There are 2 main things to look for when deciding what shoes to wear when. Cushion and grip pattern.

On a hard court surface the pattern does not matter as much as the cushion. Having extra padding, cushioning, gel, air – whatever the technology – is important.

Elite players notice the difference between a good and inferior pair of shoes. Always purchase shoes with padding at the front as well as the heel. This subtle and overlooked difference can be the difference between you feeling light or heavy on your feet.

I remember playing in shoes which were the model down from the top model. It felt like I was playing in thongs. Tennis players spen alot of time on the balls of our feet – jumping for smashes, recovering from a wide ground stroke, going forward on our volleys. You really notice the difference with extra cushioning at the front.

The other reason why cushion matters on hard court is the heat of the court. Playing on a hot court in the middle of the day can be very draining. You need a large buffer between you and the court to keep that heat away from your feet.

Cushioning also – obviously – protects you from injury. By the shoe absorbing the impact – it stops you from taking the impact to your ankles, knees and leg muscles. You also want some ankle support.

Ok, now ‘slippery’ surfaces. Clay, synthetic grass, grass etc. Cushioning and durability is less important. It is more about the tread pattern typically you want a shoe with the majority a heringbone pattern. The rubber can actually be softer so the shoe can mould to the surface of the court. The old Dunlop Volleys are a great shoe for these conditions – however – offer very little ankle support or cushioning.

NEVER wear your shoes on the wrong surface. You need your slippery tread to be fresh, not worn from use on a hard court. And Vice Versa.

Keep both pairs in your tennis bag if you are going to an event and there is a chance between playing on either surface. It can be the difference between winning and loosing.

I also recommend playing on both surfaces regularly. Playing on slippery surfaces is a completely different game to hard courts. They are both very enjoyable. We are going to discuss some surface strategies in an upcoming article.

Related Articles

• Different Shoes for Different Surfaces – July 18, 2008
• Power Cushion: New Range of Tennis Shoes from Yonex – June 8, 2011
• Breaking News: Introducing the Limited Edition Barricade V Shanghai! – November 11, 2008
• HEAD Trinergy – Accelerate Your Speed – February 2, 2012
• Rafael Nadal Cried When He Injured His Knee – January 27, 2012

Routines give you, as the player a feeling of ‘control’ over some of variables around you. Control leads to confidence in a situation and confidence makes you feel relaxed.

For example, Nadal starts controlling what he can even before the match starts. He has strict pre-match routines. Nadal walks out onto court with a racquet – like a with a weapon in his hand. He places his bag, bottles, towels around his chair in a very specific way. He is basically owning a part of the court, somewhere he can feel comfortable.

Perhaps, the most obvious routine is how he sprints to the back of the court after the coin toss. This routine every match is the mental cue for ‘lets get ready to fight’.

Other obvious routines that you will see other players do are things like: Never stepping on a line when not in a point, bouncing the ball x number of times before a serve, straightening your hat before serving or tucking your hair behind your ears before a serve.

Some pre match routines are: The night before a match check your strings, grips and clothes are ready. One hour before check your towels, water bottles, food for the match. If you need to travel ensure you know the destination and allow much more time than required. You don’t want to be rushing.

With each routine comes a sence of familiarity. Building routines will bring confidence, reduce the chance of things going wrong and improve your results.

Stay tuned on this site – We will go into more detail in the future and give some great examples of players routines and some that you can try yourself.

So, keep an eye out for other peoples routines ..

Michael

Related Articles

• All Time Grand Slam Winners – December 11, 2011
• Raphael Nadal Slams Madrid Masters Organisers – May 12, 2009
• Watch the 2009 Australian Open Television Commercial – November 13, 2008
• Rafael Will Miss Davis Cup Final Against Argentina – November 12, 2008
• Rafael Nadal Withdraws From Shanghai Masters Cup – November 4, 2008

How? We will be discussing techniques, strategies, fitness, stretching, equipment and preparation. Our target audience is for tennis players from 5 years old to 105 years old. Yep that should cover it !!

Things to look out from our team are:

Equipment Discussion about strings, shoes, racquets, clothing and what variations are good for different surfaces and conditions.

Mental discussions. Topics like routines, mental imagery and identification of turning points. We will also point out how people like Nadal control their mind and routines they use. There were some great examples on Sunday night in the Wimbledon doubles final !

Strategy tips. Discussions on how to beat a base line players, players with big serves, etc.

Tips about technique. Improving your game from serves to volleys, ground strokes and drop shots.

Enjoy the site, please feel free to contact me with any feedback, any suggestions and anything you would like to discuss.

Also, subscribe to the free newsletter to never miss a tip !

Thanks and have a great day !

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• Wilson K Factor Racquets: Advanced Technology For Players of All Levels – January 14, 2012
• A Player’s Look at why Babolat Pure Drive ‘Feels Good’ – January 9, 2012