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If you want to perform on the court, please pay close attention to this tennis shoe sizing guide. There is more to a good tennis shoe than just quality. A proper fit will ensure the stability needed to support and protect the foot during game play.
Tennis shoes that are poorly sized, increase the likelihood of injury along with sub-optimal performance. The last thing a player wants to happen is have a shoe fall off in a volley or worse. Long story short, if you care about your tennis game, correct tennis shoe sizing is a must.
Now, you could go to your local shoe store and ask to borrow their shoe sizer, but this is also something that you can do in the comfort of your own home. All you need is a chair, a pen, a piece of paper, a ruler, and the ability to do some math. Let’s dive into our OFFICIAL, tennis shoe sizing guide.
When To Measure Your Foot for Tennis Shoe Sizing
It is important that you measure your feet at the end of the day. Not a lot of people know this, but the size of your feet will change throughout the day. Since the end of the day is when your feet are at their largest, this is when you should be measuring them.
If you really want, you can also measure your feet after a good tennis session. This is because your feet would have expanded during that time, and since you will be playing tennis in these shoes, what better way to know exactly how your feet are going to react to the rigors of the sport than this?
Measurement Prep
When you are measuring your feet for tennis shoe size, don’t measure yourself barefoot. Instead, you will want to be putting on the type of socks that you are going to be wearing when you are out there on the tennis court. After all, the socks may only add a small amount onto the size of your feet, but they will add some on and this needs to be taken into account when you buy your shoes.
It is important that you are sitting down, otherwise, you won’t be that accurate when you are drawing around your feet. Some people claim that standing up is more accurate, but let’s be honest, it is tough to bend down and draw around our feet. Try it with a friend or family member if you want, though.
Getting Started
You now need to sit down in a chair. Place your feet onto a piece of paper and draw around them. Try to ensure that your drawing is as accurate as possible i.e. do not let your pen or pencil bounce about too much. If you are off by even a small amount, you can end up with the wrong shoe size.
You need to draw around BOTH feet. There is an important reason for this, which we are going to talk about in the next section. So many people draw around one foot, and they often end up with shoes that are poorly sized.
Tennis Shoe Sizing Instructions
Now, for each foot, you need to measure the following:
- The length of the foot
- The width of the foot in the widest area.
So, why are we telling you to measure both of your feet. They are both the same size, right? Nope! They are different sizes for most people. The difference can be quite huge too. Once you have your measurements, you will want to be buying shoes that fit the largest foot. You can disregard your smaller foot. That just has to put up with whatever your larger foot gets.
Once you have the size of your larger foot, take 1/4-inch off each of the measurements. These are now your final measurements.
Armed with these measurements, you can consult the shoe sizing chart above [1]. The measurements will align with the US shoe sizes for men and women, outlining the shoe size that you need. You will also determine whether you need to be buying shoes that have been designed for wider feet.
Buying Your Tennis Shoes
You would think that you could just take your shoe size and that would be the end of it. Buying shoes would be simple. It certainly can be, but if you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t care about getting the best results. Before making any purchase, we highly recommend reading through our tennis shoe reviews, to find what suits you most.
Tennis shoes can be sized ever so slightly differently. This may be due to the materials that the tennis shoe company has used, or it may be to slight variations in the manufacturing process. By reading reviews, you will be able to work out whether the shoes that the company offers tend to be slightly oversized, undersized or better for wider feet.
Breaking In New Tennis Shoes (Men & Women)
When you do buy a pair of your favorite tennis shoes, then put them on right away. Determine whether they actually do fit your feet properly. There should be no discomfort at all. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as ‘wearing your shoes in’. Well, at least on the inside of the shoe. If the shoes are too tight when you get them, then they are always going to be too tight. Send them back.
Over time, you will start to get a feel for what type of shoes are right for you. Well, at least on the sizing front. Most people tend to stick with the same manufacturers for their shoes. Manufacturers have less variance than between brands. So, if you have one shoe that you love the sizing of from Adidas, then that size is also going to be the size that you need with any other product from the Adidas range.
Conclusion
That’s all there is to it! Make sure that you consult an accurate sizing chart when you buy shoes. If you can, you may want to look at the sizing chart for a specific manufacturer that you are interested in. You are much, much more likely to find the pair of shoes that is perfect for you like this.
Resources
- https://www.infinityshoes.com/size-chart
