How to choosing tennis shoes ?

Tennis shoes must be able to support your feet with all the stops and starts you have to make, and it must give you good support at the sides of your feet. Each surface has differing requirements, and all of us have different types of feet, all of which places different demands on your tennis shoes.

The first consideration is what type of feet you have, because that will determine how much cushioning you will need, and what and where you will need lateral support.

There are three basic foot types:

1. SUPINATED – here your wear is on the outside of the shoes

2. PRONATED – here your wear is on the inside around the ball of the foot, and this type of foot suffers the most with injuries from overuse.

3. IDEAL – here the wear is even.

Either get a fellow player to walk behind you to determine whether you are walking with your foot tilting inwards, or outwards, or not at all. Better still find yourself a well-qualified sports shoe person. You could also test yourself by wetting your feet and standing on a square of cardboard.

1. If there is a large are where the arch of your feet didn’t touch you are SUPINATED

2. If the whole of your foot is marked, looking like a rectangle with slight curves then you are OVERPRONATED

3. If your feet leaves an imprint that is a balance between the others then your foot is IDEAL

Confirm this self-diagnosis with a third party watching you walk, and the wear test on your current shoes.

THE FIT OF THE TENNIS SHOE is vital, and points to pay particular attention to are as follows.

1. You need about half an inch of space between your longest toe and the end of the tennis shoe.

2. The foot should be a comfortable fit without any stretching

3. The heel should not slip, although some movement is wanted.

Just remember your feet are different sizes, so pick your size according to the larger foot, and use an insole to balance up your smaller foot.
The most important thing in a tennis shoe is LATERAL SUPPORT because much of your running on a court is side to side, and there are dangers of turning your ankle. Good lateral support is necessary if you are heavy and if you are pronated.

Your tennis shoes will need a degree of CUSHIONING and SHOCK ABSORPTION.
This is especially true if you are a baseliner, and you play most of your tennis on hard courts. Pronated feet jar most easily.

The two most common cushioning you read about are EVA, which is lightweight, but not very durable, or stable, and PU[polyurethane] which is denser, better stability, but it is a lot heavier.

FLEXIBILITY is important, and tennis shoes must bend easily at the ball of the foot, however too much flexibility makes for a shoe that won’t be comfortable.

At the end of the day, comfort is important, and tennis shoes are no different to anything else, you tend to get what you pay for, and I know very few things of quality that are cheap!!

How to Play Tennis - The Basics ?

This article is going to talk about a number of things that go into playing tennis. It will focus on equipment, the various shots involved in the game, and the scoring, but it won't go into specifics on any particular topic.

Equipment

There are three things you need to play tennis: a tennis racket, some tennis balls, and a tennis court. A tennis racket is, of course, specifically designed for the sport. All rackets have approximately the same design: a handle (sometimes called a "grip") and an oval-shaped head with strings. A tennis ball is about two and a half inches in diameter and covered in felt. Typically, the inside of a ball is pressurized so that it bounces relatively high. Finally, a tennis court is 78 feet across and 27 feet wide (for singles) with two-inch white lines dividing the various areas of the court.

The Strokes

There are several basic strokes in tennis: the forehand, the backhand, and the serve. The forehand is hit with your dominant hand on the dominant side of your body. For example, if you are right handed, you would use that hand to hit a forehand on the right side of your body. The backhand is on your non-dominant side and hit with either one (your dominant arm, reaching across your body) or two hands. The serve starts the point and must be hit behind the baseline into a service box.

The Scoring

The scoring of a tennis match is very unique. You need to win four points to win a game and six games to win a set. Matches are typically best-out-of-three sets, but for major tournaments they are best-out-of-five sets. Both players start at 0 - 0. Let's say the server wins the first point. He is now up 15 - 0. If he wins the next point he is up 30 - 0, and if he wins the one after that he is up 40 - 0. So the first point you win gives you 15, the second 30, and the third 40. If both players make it to 40 (so 40 - 40), this situation is called deuce. From this spot, a player must win two consecutive points to win the game. If one player wins the first point, but the other player wins the next, they are back to deuce.

Tennis Tips
The rare shortcuts in the tennis game


There are two major ways of improving your game: tennis tips and lots of repetition. A lot of practice grooves your strokes and establishes a solid foundation from where you can move on.

But before, during and after this learning process you can apply various tennis tips which help you find a more effective, effortless ways of improvement.

You can make various little mistakes when learning or competing and at first you don't even notice the problem.

It's like a ship that changes its course for 1 degree. It doesn't show immediately but after a couple of hours of sailing there is a big difference where you end up.

So tennis tips are actually those little but very important »course modifiers«. That's why they are called tips and not encyclopedias. ;)

But remember – there is a great value hidden in these tips especially if you apply them for a longer period of time until they become subconscious.

Another very important issue that needs mentioning is the learning process. MOST of the learning and improvement takes time, effort, commitment and many repetitions. Our brain and body need many recurring informational packets before they fluidly adapt.

But – there are other ways. In some specific situations repetitions are not needed. What is needed is just a slight change of course and you will sail to your desired treasure island. These are the tennis tips.

There are many different tips – physical, technical, tactical and mental. Since TennisMindGame.com is dedicated to everything related to mental aspect of tennis and everything related to making your mind your best ally, all the tips on this site will be mostly mental ones.

Tuesday, 12 January 2010

Top Brands Of Tennis Shoes


Written by Roberto Sedycias

Sunday, 01 March 2009

With the growing popularity of tennis, many sports equipment manufacturers have entered into the shoes market with innovative styles of tennis shoes. Tennis is a highly strenuous sport. Hence a good pair of tennis shoes is a must for quality performance from the player. Good branded tennis shoes are made with reinforced heel and toe pads as these areas are most prone to wear and tear during games.

A game of tennis can be played on hard court and clay court. Tennis shoes are also available as per different ground surfaces. For instance, tennis shoes meant for hard court surfaces ought to be durable and extra protective where as for soft court surfaces tennis shoes are designed to provide maximum comfort to the players.

Buying branded tennis shoes provide good return in the long run both in terms of performance and durability. Today market is flooded with many brands of tennis shoes. Before buying, it is suggested to do a thorough market analysis of different brands of tennis shoes so as to know the high and low points of the brands. A brief discussion on some of the top branded tennis shoes as discussed as follows to help you choose your tennis shoes.

Nike:

Nike, one of the most popular names in tennis shoe market, has dominated the market since the 80`s. Popular sports stars from different fields like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Lebron James endorse for this brand of shoes. The superstar studded endorsement has catapulted the status of Nike brand of shoes.

Latest technology has been adopted in the Nike brand of shoes. Nike tennis shoes now are designed in such a way so as to bring in air to the soles. This latest feature makes the tennis shoe very comfortable. In fact this feature has brought Nike as a forefront innovator in the tennis shoe market. One of its most popular shoes `Air Jordan` is a signature shoe by Michael Jordan. With the latest technology used for shoes designs and prominent sports persons endorsing its products, a basic Nike shoe doesn`t come with a price lower than $300.

Reebok:

Reebok brand always gives emphasis to serious gamers. It`s a common sight to watch NBA players wearing Reebok brands during NBA games. Several young tennis stars also endorse for this brand of tennis shoes. Over the years Reebok has introduced many advanced technologies such as the DMX technology and Supportive CMEVA midsole to provide ultimate cushioning comfort to the players and enable easy movement in and around the court. One popular brand of tennis shoes for women has also been designed by famous Hollywood actress Scarlett Johansson. Price wise, Reebok brand of tennis shoes are not too overtly costly unlike some other brands.

Adidas:

One of the earliest brands of tennis shoes, Adidas has always been a favorite among many top professional players in different period for its durability, performance, excellent traction, cushioning and comfort features. Ever since its inception in 1931, there has been addition of many innovative features to gain extreme comfort and performance. For instance, materials such as synthetic, mesh and canvas are used for adidas tennis shoes to make it lighter in weight and increase the comfort as well as durability.

To provide excellent traction, the brand uses high density non-marking rubber outsoles called as 'Adi Wear'. Another innovative Adi prene technology is used in this brand of tennis shoes to provide good cushioning comfort while playing on hard courts. To ensure moisture-free comfort to the wearer's foot, 'Climacool' technology is used in Adidas tennis shoes. Surprisingly with so many advanced technologies incorporated in their footwear, Adidas brand of tennis shoes aren`t too expensive. Top-of-the-line Adidas tennis shoes for men starts with a price of $100.00.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBlast.com

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