Clay Court vs. All-Court Shoes

[Lord Anomander]

Hey guys,

I'm going to buy myself a new pair of tennis shoes. The question now is whether I should go for clay court or all-court shoes. I play on two surfaces mainly, which are clay during summer and hard courts with pellets in winter. Now the pellets can be pretty slippery (behind the baseline there can be lots of them) and I was wondering if I could use a clay court shoe there too. Or to put the question the other way around: how good/bad performs an all-court shoe on clay?

Thanks in advance!

PS: haven't decided which shoe to go for, but I like the Vapor 9.5 (have been using Nike shoes for quite a while), the new Yonex SHT Eclipsion and the Asics Gel Resolution 6. However, I have to try them first to see how they fit as I know next to nothing about the fit of a Yonex or Asics shoe.

 

[branman1986]

I recommend you buying two pairs of shoes, one clay court and one hardcourt. Clay court shoes will wear down super quick on hardcourt and the tread on all court won't give you the same grip as clay court.

 

[Dartagnan64]

I used a clay court shoe initally but recently have switched to GR6 for both hard courts and clay (one pair for each). The GR6 tread works really well on clay and is equivalent to my herringbone tread on my other shoes. I think its a great all around show for both surfaces if you want to stick to a singlle shoe. Best tennis shoe I've ever had BTW.

 

[Nostradamus]

I recommend you buying two pairs of shoes, one clay court and one hardcourt. Clay court shoes will wear down super quick on hardcourt and the tread on all court won't give you the same grip as clay court.

what about traction ? does Clay court shoe give you just as good of traction on hard courts ?

 

[Dartagnan64]

what about traction ? does Clay court shoe give you just as good of traction on hard courts ?

Most clay court shoes use a classic herringbone tread which is good for all court traction, but wears down easily. Often the big difference with clay court is the depth of the tread in order to not get easily clogged with clay.

 

[Nostradamus]

Most clay court shoes use a classic herringbone tread which is good for all court traction, but wears down easily. Often the big difference with clay court is the depth of the tread in order to not get easily clogged with clay.

What about this tread ?? does this look like it will be just as good on hard courts for traction ?

 

[Chewychow]

A clay shoe on a hard court will last you no more than 2-3 weeks the rubber component on those shoes are generally softer and less durable. Best option if you play on both courts is to have two separate shoes.

 

[topspn]

Any har tru courts I’ve ever played on, it was never an issue to play with regular tennis shoes. I actually liked them a bit more on clay as it does make controlled slides easier.

 

[prjacobs]

Hey guys,

I'm going to buy myself a new pair of tennis shoes. The question now is whether I should go for clay court or all-court shoes. I play on two surfaces mainly, which are clay during summer and hard courts with pellets in winter. Now the pellets can be pretty slippery (behind the baseline there can be lots of them) and I was wondering if I could use a clay court shoe there too. Or to put the question the other way around: how good/bad performs an all-court shoe on clay?

Thanks in advance!

PS: haven't decided which shoe to go for, but I like the Vapor 9.5 (have been using Nike shoes for quite a while), the new Yonex SHT Eclipsion and the Asics Gel Resolution 6. However, I have to try them first to see how they fit as I know next to nothing about the fit of a Yonex or Asics shoe.

I have vapor 9.5s and Asics Gel Solution Speed 2s for clay. I prefer the Asics a lot more. The Nikes can really be ratcheted down tightly for an excellent fit, but the Asics feel so much more comfortable to me. If you really like lightweight shoes the Asics clay Gel Solution 2s (and probably the 3 series) are only 12.3 oz. As said above, an all surface shoe will be fine on clay, just not as light. I like having two surface specific shoes. It I had to do it again I'd get Asics for both clay and hard court and chuck the Nikes. I just love the way Asics feel and fit.

 

[Dartagnan64]

Any har tru courts I’ve ever played on, it was never an issue to play with regular tennis shoes. I actually liked them a bit more on clay as it does make controlled slides easier.

I'd agree with this. Red clay is probably where clay specific shoes shine most. On Har Tru i've not noticed a big difference between my Asics GR6 or my clay shoes.
That being said my clay New Balances got destroyed in the toe after a couple times on hard court. So it doesn't go both ways.

Additionally, hard court people get upset at you if you bring your mucked up clay shoes onto the hard courts. So having a separate pair is not a bad idea.

 

[Frost5541]

What about this tread ?? does this look like it will be just as good on hard courts for traction ?

I hope you know he said "herringbone"