History of Tennis Shoes

 

Every tennis or sports person wants to know how tennis shoes came into existence and how it become famous in the market? We will try to answer these and many more that come up in your mind.

When did first tennis shoe made?

The first tennis shoes were made from canvas and rubber soles during the 18^th century basically, these were designed for the British navy to use them on the slippery deck. Later they got a place in the market around 1892 and was also known as plimsolls. These shoes had no left or right and were called sneakers (source) because of their salient feature while walking on the floor, unlike today’s tennis shoes that contain the very hard sole and make lots of noise as we walk on the ground or court.

Rubber-soled shoes were used in this era and didn’t see any alteration until the 1960s. In the late 1960s, lots of companies made testing with tennis shoes and got famous at that time. When tennis shoes first came up in the market, they were seen as sneaker or athletic shoes but this is far away when we compare them to today’s market. Today’s shoes are made to accommodate the tennis player well on the court while other forms of shoes have developed in the modern era to accommodate runner’s performance.

It was the year 1916 when the United States Rubber Company started manufacturing its own brand of tennis shoes. As these were rubber-soled canvas tennis shoes so people naming it as Keds. In the Year 1917 competitor of Rubber Company came up with their own design and version known as All-Star Shoes. Even though these were new in the market their design and style didn’t change till 1960.

Now it’s considered to be the turning point for tennis shoes when Bill Bowerman who owned the Nike Company came up, He wanted to design a lightweight tennis shoe that will offer better traction to the players and athletics. He focused on getting shoes that would offer better comfort to runners with the help of the inner sole of the tennis shoes. He also used nylon first in history instead of canvas to make more light weight shoes.

Nowadays ASICS Tennis Shoes are considered as one of the best Tennis Shoes in the market. Also used by World No.1 Tennis Player Novak Djokovic.

How did word “Tennis Shoes” Came up in the market?

The true definition of tennis shoes is varied and to some extent, it is also known as sneakers by another name.  Whereas Tennis shoes are originated from British Navy where the sailors used them on a slippery and sliding wet surface that is found on the deck. The tennis shoes became popular among the aristocrats who used them to play the tennis game. Hence it is named as Tennis shoes.

In the year 1839, Charles Goodyear introduced vulcanized rubber making tennis shoes more resistant and stable as compared to earlier models and it is considered the athletic shoes were born in this year. In 1900 USA Rubber Company introduced the KEDS which was popular and very useful in tennis courts and the same was with All-Star later in 1917. Adidas also jumped into the race and focused on manufacturing tennis shoes in 1931. Later in 1960 Adidas wanted to change the design and want to do something different and innovative as compared to earlier models.

Turning Point

Adidas manufactured shoes that consist of leather in the uppers replacing the earlier material called canvas. This gave tremendous results to the company and they got very popular in a very short span of time. This sparked the whole industry to do new experiments to make tennis shoes more effective. In the year 1970 Adidas played the role of forerunner making its way to polyurethane and made its outsole from it and produced better messed upper. This not only makes it better in durability and comfortable but gave space for breathability at the same time. From here Adidas never looked back and become dominant in the market.

You must be thinking now about how modern tennis shoes did come? So it was in early 1980 when another step of tennis shoe’s evolution took place. New Nike Air Trainer 1 was launched by Nike, which not only gives lateral support but provides a strap secured the foot for the side-to-side movement you require in tennis as well as a heel lift that was a little higher than your average running shoe.

Why we call it Tennis Shoes?

Again the reason is the same as they were invented by the navy and used by rich people to do their sporting activities as it was very popular at that time. The need for these shoes that it will not only protect the tennis court along with the comfort of the rubber shoe sole. This is highly recommended to be worn by navy personnel, which were also referred to as tennis shoes.

Also, read if you are looking for Best Tennis Balls in 2021.

Wrap Up

Hope you are cleared now with the evolution of tennis shoes and have helped in exploring your knowledge in detail.