Tennis Shoes

The tennis shoe is a type of athletic shoe that is more commonly used for casual wear than for athletic purposes. The basic premise of an athletic shoe, or sneaker, is a rubber sole with non-slip material, an upper made of a flexible material, and a fastening device, such as shoelaces or velcro straps. The tennis shoe certainly fits the bill, although nowadays it is merely fits in to the category.

Production of tennis shoes date back to the early 20th century, when Spalding Company produced athletic shoes for basketball and tennis. Not too long later, Adolf Dassler (founder of adidas) created his first tennis shoe, and the Jack Purcell, named after the 1930’s tennis champ of the same name, was created by Converse. There have been a number of tennis shoes that were created since then due to the increased popularity of tennis and sports in general.

While dedicated tennis shoes are still produced today, the term itself is associated with casual, everyday wear. The adidas Superstar and adidas Stan Smith are two great examples of shoes originally meant for tennis but used exclusively for street wear; both pairs were meant to be worn on the tennis court but are now marketed as lifestyle/casual shoes. Consequently, both the Superstar and Stan Smith are two of the highest-selling pairs in athletic shoe history. K-Swiss is another manufacturer  of tennis shoes, but are typically used for normal everyday wear.

The term “tennis shoe” can also be used to describe athletic shoes that were not intended for tennis use. The Nike Air Force 1, similarly to the adidas Superstar and Stan Smith, is currently worn as a casual shoe despite being meant for a basketball. The tennis shoe moniker is also another nickname for a general athletic shoe, like “sneaker” or “trainer”.