Why No Pros With Sunglasses?

TennsDog

TennsDog

Hall of Fame
I am just curious as to why no professional tennis players wear sunglasses on court. I can barely go outside without sunglasses when the sun is bright, much less play tennis. I mean, they have technologies now that you don't even notice the sunglasses (like Oakley's XYZ lenses which give clear vision in all directions). I think Arnaud Clement used to wear cycling-style sunglasses, but I'm not sure if he even does anymore.
 
I wore sunglasses before but they get really fogged up and hard to see after a few points.. Its called sweat and its really hard to get off the sunglasses every point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
 
my sunglasses never fog up, i don't know why. But occasionally on a changeover, I'll take them off and wipe it with a towel, and just keep using them. They work great, but only on really sunny days, not really on partly cloudy days.
 
the primary purpose of wearing sunglasses is to filter light our of your eyes. In doing so, the majority of sunglasses will alter your depth perception to varying degrees.
so on top of the fact that your depth perception will be altered, its also extra gear to wear which can at times become cumberson depending on how much the person sweats, stability of the glasses etc...
 
10ispro said:
the primary purpose of wearing sunglasses is to filter light our of your eyes. In doing so, the majority of sunglasses will alter your depth perception to varying degrees.
so on top of the fact that your depth perception will be altered, its also extra gear to wear which can at times become cumberson depending on how much the person sweats, stability of the glasses etc...
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getting scientific up in this bitznatch...lol...i dont know why but as soon as i read that, that was the first thought that came to mind...but that is a good point, i never thought of it that way (filtering light, changing depth derception)
 
goober said:
I can see the ball more clearly without sunglasses even those made specifically for tennis.
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I'm the opposite. I can see MORE clearly with sunglasses on a very bright day. They block out all the glare and do not distort my vision whatsoever. I use Nike sunglasses with the plastic lenses and they're great for tennis. Very light and they have the rubber gripper nosepads which keep them on your face even when you sweat a lot. I don't even notice I have them on.
 
I wear Oakley Splice glasses. They fit my face nicely, have a rubber nose piece, and rubber temple pieces to keep them in place (the hat or headband also helps). I was actually known on my tennis team for wearing sunglasses all the time. I get a ridiculous racoon-like tanline every summer from wearing them. I even wear them when it isn't all that bright, but still a bit uncomfortable without glasses. Perhaps I have just developed in tennis while wearing sunglasses, so I don't find them a hinderance, I don't know. It just seems weird to me that you always see the pros squinting when the sun gets low or trying to move the toss around the sun when a pair of sunglasses could easily fix that. How do all of you see at all when the sun is out in full force glaring all over the place?
 
BreakPoint said:
I'm the opposite. I can see MORE clearly with sunglasses on a very bright day. They block out all the glare and do not distort my vision whatsoever. I use Nike sunglasses with the plastic lenses and they're great for tennis. Very light and they have the rubber gripper nosepads which keep them on your face even when you sweat a lot. I don't even notice I have them on.
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All I need is a hat. Evidently all the pros must feel the same way since they just wear hat and never or rarely wear sun glasses. But whatever works for you...
 
goober said:
All I need is a hat. Evidently all the pros must feel the same way since they just wear hat and never or rarely wear sun glasses. But whatever works for you...
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Yup, me, too! Hat and sunglasses all the time. A "must" combo like burger and fries. ;) :D
 
I think Stosur (who teamed up with Paes in the mixed doubles, losing in the semifinal against Blake and Williams) is sponsored by Oakley. She was wearing sunglasses in that match, even though it was one of the later matches. I couldn't see enough clear shots of her clothes, but it looked like she at least had an Oakley hat on as well. So, at least one player at Wimbledon was wearing them.
 
They have new darkened UV-protection contact lenses that are supposed to work well. I wonder if the pros will start using them, since some pros like Capriati end up having cataracts by the age of 25.
 
I believe I read once that even the best sunglasses block 25% of the light and the hindrance to good vision pretty much eliminates their use in a sport like tennis. I'm sure Oakley is eager to sponsor any pro willing to wear them on a regular basis. I think at one time Brad Gilbert had a contract with Oakley but dumped them when he thought it was negatively affecting his play.
 
I always wear sunglasses outdoors so it goes without saying that I use them when playing tennis. Having said that, I will try to play without sunglasses given that everyone suggests sunglasses are a hindrance.

As an alternative, players could use those yellow lenses that the skiers and shooters use. They give better vision.
 
I never use them. But that may be due to the fact that back in the 80's not to many options were availalbe for shades. Just got used to not using them.

What is the ruling if your sunglasses come off and hit the court during a point?
 
Since it's your own equipment, nothing. If you trip or whatever, you deal with it. Just like losing a hat, which I've seen.
 
I dunno. I wear goggles when snowboarding and it doesn't affect my depth perception any.

I don't wear sunglasses because I don't like the way they look, and I've never had a chance to try on prescription shades (which I would need).
 
there are alot of people who wear sunglasses so often that they are very acclimated to vision with sunglasses, so playing with sunglasses makes no difference to them-they actually feel more uncomfortable without them...

Prescription sunglasses would really be no different than regular sunglasses, they are still tinted to reduce the amount of light entering your eyes.

I had a girl on one of my HS teams, who wore prescription glasses and had prescrip Sunglasses, which she swore she had to wear. After I had to go back and forth for a couple days with and without her sunglasses, she realized that she actually did play worse with them so didnt need them anymore.
 
diggler said:
I always wear sunglasses outdoors so it goes without saying that I use them when playing tennis. Having said that, I will try to play without sunglasses given that everyone suggests sunglasses are a hindrance.

As an alternative, players could use those yellow lenses that the skiers and shooters use. They give better vision.
Click to expand...

Somehow I don't think that wearing yellow lenses would be particularly effective when playing with yellow tennis balls.

I have those Bolle CompetitionVision lenses that are designed to block light except yellow and I don't even like wearing them. It has to be REALLY bright and sunny for me to even think about wearing them.
 
As a RX wearer, I use Bolle with various lens depending on the sun light. The yellow shooters type lens work under very cloudy skies or lights at night outdoors.:cool:
 
Clement is insulted

arnaudclement.jpg

Showing why not to mess with little Frenchies
clement1.jpg

He even can fly on occasion with the shades.
clement2.jpg
 
erik-the-red said:
I think Arnaud Clement donned sunglasses circa 2001.
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I think he had a contract to wear them that year. I never can wear sunglasses when I play. Fogging and moving your head about makes them unstable.
 
It seems to me like most people's reason for not wearing sunglasses could easily be fixed by finding a properly fitting pair that are good for active wear. You need to make sure they are not too big for your face and have rubber pieces on the nose and temples. This keeps them from moving, and a hat or bandana also helps loads too. I've never had sunglasses fog while wearing them (in the summer, anyway), but shaving cream actually prevents that. It sounds weird, but I used that trick on my ski goggles and it works great. (Works well on bathroom mirrors too.) You may need to spend more money for a good pair (I got my used Oakleys on The Bay for a hundred bucks), but it is totally worth it, in my opinion.
 
If you wear sunglasses you'd better also wear a cap, otherwise it looks kind of stupid. With the cap, you will look like a coach.
 
Thank god we don't have much sun in Holland. sunglasses look like sony crocket in miami vice. I only were them in my Aston Martin DB9 cabrio haha
 
MasterTS said:
I wore sunglasses before but they get really fogged up and hard to see after a few points.. Its called sweat and its really hard to get off the sunglasses every point!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Click to expand...
Me too. I can't see a lick without my prescription glasses for 20/400 vision. Sun makes it worse so I use transition lenses. Clip on sunglasses don't work at all
Cannot even see the tennis ball when serving into the sun. My guess is tennis pros use contact lenses with transitions.
 
Not to hijack this thread, but I'm a world class level tennis player, about to be eligible for 65 year old brackets( every 5 years makes a huge difference and top 55 guys would smoke me) . Maintaining ones health seems to be the biggest challenge. On average, about 25-35% of tournament matches are defaulted due to injuries. ( Shoulder and hips
 
BreakPoint said:
I'm the opposite. I can see MORE clearly with sunglasses on a very bright day. They block out all the glare and do not distort my vision whatsoever. I use Nike sunglasses with the plastic lenses and they're great for tennis. Very light and they have the rubber gripper nosepads which keep them on your face even when you sweat a lot. I don't even notice I have them on.
Click to expand...
I'm willing to bet they do distort your vision a little. I've yet to come across any brand of sunglasses where I move them down from the eyes, then back, then down, then back and don't see a literal shift in what I see. I'm not trying to say that doesn't mean you can't play better with them than without. For pros, I'd imagine that little shift makes all the difference given the speed and reaction time requirements they play with.
 
Lat year, the Bryans were promoting some new sunglasses, saying they're not polarized bc you can see the ball better vs. polarized. I don't see how polarized lenses are a hindrance (I wear them).
 
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