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Best Hard Court Tennis Shoes for Men & Women

Selecting a pair of tennis shoes to be used on hard courts is something that you are very likely going to have to spend time on at some point.

Even if your local club tennis courts are made out of clay or grass, there is a very high chance that you’ll play on the universally used hard court surface in the near future. It is the most common kind of court to stumble across if you’re travelling to other clubs to play competitively, something you’ll be doing a lot as you climb towards that world number 1 ranking that we know you’re destined for.

But before we let you get carried away envisaging yourself holding a Grand Slam trophy, let us first walk you through a few of your options when it comes to selecting the best hard court tennis shoes. 

Best Hard-Court Tennis Shoes for Men & Women

Nike Air Zoom Vapor Cage 4 (Men & Women)

best hard court tennis shoes

Nike are a go-to brand when it comes to tennis shoes and so it should be no surprise to see their names pop up on this list.

The design is great with these shoes despite the overall lack of color options. Both the women’s and men’s looks should fit in well with the majority of your match-ready outfits.

The rubber that Nike uses is integrated throughout the shoe design and provides an immensely tough and durable overall feel. Interestingly, the herringbone design pattern on the treads is combined with zonal high abrasion patterns for maximum grip and traction. You won’t find yourself easily losing balance around the baseline in these!

Nike has incorporated a feature with the laces on these shoes that means that they remain hidden and covered throughout play to avoid trailing and tearing.

This Air Zoom Vapor model is a fantastic all-round hard court shoe, providing the necessary requirements for you to play your best. They are a little pricey but quality makes it just about worth the pick up!

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ASICS Gel-Resolution 8 Tennis Shoes (Men & Women)

The ASICS Gel range of shoes has really helped put them on the map as a tennis shoe manufacturer.

Both the men’s and women’s version of these shoes comes with a great selection of color options to choose from. You’ll find yourself able to select a look that best suits you to have you feeling confident when you step on the court.

The gel system that ASICS incorporates into a lot of their shoes is present here in both the heel and midfoot. This strategically places to help dampen shock vibrations as you hammer your feet around in lengthy rallies.

The upper-lining of this shoe is designed to be fitted and personalized so that it can sit tightly against your feet without feeling uncomfortable or constricting easy movement.

A toe guard completes the look, offering the much-needed protection required in case of accidental slip-ups as you’re running forward to reach your opponent’s drop-shot.

ASICS have done well with their Gel range, providing comfortable shoes that will help you to relax into your best tennis in important matches. This is another slightly expensive offering but you’re getting a lot for your money here.

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Wilson KAOS 3.0 SFT (Men & Women)

Despite being arguably the most well-known tennis brand around, Wilson shoes generally aren’t that common to see around the professional or even local club circuits. That’s why it’s good to see them come out with a product that’s a little bit different from more typical tennis shoe offerings.

This lightweight 100% synthetic mesh web design reminds us almost of a slip-on gym class plimsoll. But before you sigh and scroll on, hear us out. There’s more to this shoe, we promise you.

The quick-pull and tighten laces add to the overall simplistic look that this shoe has. Wilson has applied skin guard tough material at specific points around the ankle area to make sure that your feet have the support they need to push off quickly.

It’s also great to see a bit of extra support for the women’s version of this shoe around the archway areas of the sole. This is a nice added touch that demonstrates that Wilson has done their homework on the subtle differences and changes needed when producing men’s and women’s shoes.

With a maneuverable and durable rubber sole pulling the entire lightweight chassis of the shoe together, the KAOS is clearly designed for maximum speed around the court. This will help in those short and sharp sprints up at the net to block those volley winners back into court.

The easy pull-on-and-play style of these is a brilliant choice for players who value speed as one of their strengths in must-win matches… It’s just a shame there’s not much variety here when it comes to colors!

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New Balance Fresh Foam Lav V1 (Men & Women)

Colors! Oh, the glorious colors on offer for the men’s version of these shoes are great to see. They’ll provide an eye-catching look for you as you step on the court and the sleek design should fit in well with most match kits… However, the great option for the men makes the rather lackluster color options for women really stand out…

This foam used in the build process for these shoes provides a fantastic level of comfort inside a nice aerodynamic design built for all-court speed. Made from 50% synthetic material and 50% mesh, these shoes are LIGHT and will help cool your feet as you scarper around in hot weather.

The bootie construction and tight kinetic stitching of these shoes will offer unique and easy flexibility for your feet, a necessity when working on your movement around the court.

The non-marking rubber sole is immensely durable and provides a long-lasting grip that won’t be wearing away anytime soon, even on the roughest of hard courts. You don’t need to worry about struggling for traction with these on!

New Balance has been steadily making a name for themselves with quality tennis products for a while now and this Fresh Foam model is another tick in that box. This shoe will suit all levels of players looking to prioritize foot comfort when on the court to help them play at their best level.

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New Balance 796 V2 Hard Court Tennis Shoe (Men & Women)

best tennis shoes for hard court

New Balance here again and this time, they’re bringing some color for men AND women! With a smattering of looks available, you’ll be able to take your time deciding what will be work with those flowery pair of tennis shorts you’re planning on wearing for that big match next week.

With this shoe, New Balance have taken steps (pun intended!) to cut out any added features in order to lower the overall bulk weight. No added comfort foam here, you’ll notice.

The entire shoe sits close to the ground to allow your feet proper forceful traction when you go to push off them. You’ll notice this predominantly when you go to serve as you bend your knees.

The upper part of this shoe is no-stitch, allowing for the designers to cut back on any added extras they would usually be adding to their products. New Balance say they’ve done this to allow you to shake off the extra baggage and put all your energy into hitting those winning shots down the line when it matters most!

Most manufacturers are on the look-out for the next big addition they can make to their shoes and so it’s interesting to see New Balance decide that cutting back might actually be a way forward for them. This shoe provides a nice, lightweight option for you if you’re looking to take off some of the extra bells and whistles that modern tennis shoes often come with.

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ASICS Court FF 2 Novak (Men’s)

ASICS are gonna’ sell a shed load of these regardless of how we review them here for you so we may as well not even bother… Only kidding, we’ll still give you our breakdown.

The shoe endorsed by the best men’s tennis player in the world, the FF 2 Novak brings with it a load of tech built to help with your movement on the court.

Flyte foam is used here to offer unparalleled comfortable bounce-back as you change direction quickly. This foam is made from very fine fibres to lessen density and in doing so, offers a much more responsive feel for your shoe is adapt to.

ASICS have noticed how many players complain that their feet move around in their shoes as they play. To help counter this, they’ve fitted the FF 2 Novak with Twistruss tech to help the inside of the shoe to adapt to how your feet are stationed at any given moment. You’ll find yourself stable even as you dive out wide in stretch-defensive positions.

As with most hard court shoes, the toe protector makes an appearance here to offer enhanced protection and the form-fitting design sits sock-like against your feet to offer easy movement in intensely long matches.

Novak Djokovic is a player most well-known for his adaptability and flexibility. It’s only fair that shoes that bear his name are designed for that as well. If you’re looking for a shoe that will adapt and move with your feet naturally while you’re on court, this could well be the option for you.

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Adidas Adizero Ubersonic 3 Tennis Shoe (Men & Women)

Regardless of it these end up winning the title for best tennis shoes for hard courts, they should absolutely win the title for the best NAME for tennis shoes for hard courts!

Coming with a nice range of color options for both the men’s and women’s versions, the Ubersonic 3 have a rather simplistic stretch synthetic and mesh design built to help with flexible lightweight comfortable movement across the court.

Adidas has targeted all-court players with this product, constructing a chassis that sits tight against your feet and offers easy breathability when you’re sweating it out in baseline exchanges.

The rubberized soles offer great traction for a shoe designed predominantly for speed and you’ll find this comes in handy when planting your feet to return big serves.

Despite the flashy name, the Ubersonic cuts out a lot of comfort tech in order to help your feet access fresh cool air while on the court. This is an immensely valuable feature that should attract players with a history of awkwardly sweaty feet putting them off in the middle of big match moments…

We’ve all been there!

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ASICS Solution Speed FF Tennis Shoe (Men & Women)

Now, these have a nice look to them… AND COLORS, OH, MY GOSH, THE COLORS AVAILABLE!… Sorry, we get excited about colors if you can’t already tell! But yes, the options here for both men and women are fantastic, offering over 10 looks for both so there should be something here for everyone to enjoy!

Rather than using their patented gel with these, ASICS has fallen back to foam to offer the comfort necessary for intense rallying sessions.

A combination of rubber designed specifically for durability and a mesh/synthetic hybrid make up the body of this shoe. That means that the Speed FF manages to be particularly durable while still maintaining light-weight breathability.

The removable inner-sock liner is a great little moisture management addition, allowing you to take it out and air it at the end of a sweaty few hours of all-court play.

As the name of these would suggest, ASICS has produced a shoe that will help you settle into a quick court coverage rhythm. If you’re a player who values easy and free movement throughout your match, it might well be worth picking these up.

Plus, they’re fairly cheap!

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best hard court tennis shoes

How to Choose Tennis Shoes

Comfort

This is arguably the most important thing when it comes to selecting pair of shoes generally and that is no different when you’re looking for a pair of tennis-specific shoes.

Hard courts are… well… hard! Running on a flat cement floor back and forth, back and forth for hours on end is going to take its toll on your feet if you’re not prepared for it. Find a pair of shoes that offer both comfort and stability.

Tennis is a sport that requires an intense level of concentration if you’re aiming to play your best and for that reason, distractions need to be kept at a minimum. If you find yourself constantly being put off by your awkward footwear, that’s a sign that they’re not the shoes for you.

Traction/Grip

You want a pair of tennis shoes that are going to offer a level of grip that will allow for quick bursts of stop-start pace and changes of direction. It’s extremely unlikely that regular running or jogging shoes will last long when being forcefully ground down repeatedly into a hard tennis court surface.

So take a look at the base of any tennis shoes before purchasing. Most hard-court tennis shoes will be rocking a thick, blocky modified herringbone grip design. This will look a bit cube-like and zig-zag all across the sole of the shoe offering enough give and grip to see you through.

Something to take note of is how thick that sole is. You don’t want your grip wearing away a few weeks after you begin using them. Diving about across a hard court is made a lot more difficult if your shoes aren’t on your side helping you along the way.

Support

The upper-support of hard court tennis shoes is usually thick and cushiony, offering a stable base for your ankles to push off easily. This is hugely important in helping to absorb shock vibrations from repeatedly running across solid surfaces. Avoiding repetitive strain injuries is a must for any budding tennis superstar.

Alongside this, a thick rubberized toe protective section is usually covering the front of hard court shoes. Stumbling across your newly painted toenails on a concrete surface is not an enjoyable experience and this section of the shoe will help you to avoid breakages, twists, and bumps if you do happen to trip over yourself in the middle of an epic rally.

It should also be said that most hard-court shoes come in one of two basic general categories. The first is a more durable and solid option, built-to-last while providing your feet with a thick, comfortable playing feel. The second is lighter, with less grip and built for speed.

Try and make sure you know what kind of shoe you’re paying for!

Durability

This is a biggy and will probably be the one that leaves you the most frustrated when, only a few weeks down the line, your shoes are ready for the trash can.

The side-to-side nature of movement in tennis means that shoes need to be ready to distribute movement and pressure securely and quickly. Badly made shoes will tear at the seams and wear away quickly at the soles. Keep an eye on these areas specifically throughout your first few weeks of play with new hard-court shoes.

It should be said that most tennis shoes aren’t actually built to last too long. The very nature of the intense workout that tennis demands of our feet means that footwear will burnout, rip and tear as time passes.

But having said that, most good shoes should last at least six months. Some manufacturers actually go as far as offering a six-month guarantee, meaning that if they do wear out on you within that timeframe, they’ll offer you a new pair. Keep this in mind when deciding where to buy from.

Ventilation

Your feet are gonna’ get sweaty and as a result, they’re gonna’ get smelly. And that’s even before you start playing tennis!

No, but seriously, tennis is a physical exercise and your feet are absolutely going to feel the effects of long, extended play. When you tear off your shoes at the end of a long day of letting match point opportunities slip you by, the last thing you want to do is deal with that musty stink.

To help you with this, many tennis shoes have built-in ventilation to help your feet breathe. Lightweight mesh is often used to let air funnel around the inside of the shoe and keep your toes nice and cool.

The amount of high-tech cushioning and foam that’s being used more and more for modern tennis shoe comfort means that your feet are going to naturally be more padded and sweat more as a result.

Look out for shoes that actively work to combat that problem, otherwise, you’re going to be dealing with overheated feet a lot.

Price

As with most tennis equipment, your own personal budget will determine how much you’re willing to spend when it comes to hard court tennis shoes.

That’s not to say that your only hope for good quality shoes is to win the lottery. There are plenty of good, solid, and relatively cheap options out there just waiting to be discovered and we hope we’ve been able to help highlight some of them to you up above.

Tennis shoes are generally fairly expensive and so it’s important to fully weigh up a few different models before deciding which pair is going to help you on the next stage of your future Wimbledon-winning tennis career pathway.

Final Thoughts

And there we have it! We hope we’ve been able to provide you with some helpful hints and useful information to help you find the very best hard court tennis shoes.

To summarise, the general standard of hard court shoes is fairly high. As long as you don’t purchase a pair of sandals or high heels, you’re likely going to be able to play tennis. It’s simply a question of finding the shoe to help you play your BEST tennis.

Comfort and durability are the two most prominent areas to focus on. As long as you know that you’re getting a tough, flexible and breathable shoe, you’re all set…

Or should that be you’re all game, SET and match?!…

No?

OK, we’ll go now.

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