Players endorse adidas grass court outsole
The response to adidas’ new grass court shoe outsole has met with approval from well known tennis players and Wimbledon organisers.
The company’s tennis footwear developers have worked with Wimbledon for the past two years to create a new outsole for the CC Feather shoe that is said to provide the best possible grip on one of tennis’s most testing surfaces, while also reducing the wear and tear of the grass.
The new outsole on the CC Feather IV Grass features a dimple pattern with fewer, softer and longer spikes. As these spikes are dragged along the surface of the grass they offer excellent grip while also giving a flat push off area which ensures quick directional change for players.
Former British number one and Wimbledon semi-finalist, Tim Henman and the British Davis Cup squad worked with adidas, the All England Lawn Tennis Club and the West Yorkshire based Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI), to test and develop the shoe, which was worn by Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi at Wimbledon’s recent roof opening.
Mr Henman said: “I tested the new adidas grass court outsole extensively practicing on both Wimbledon and Queens courts and found it provided amazing grip and support on both dry and damp surfaces. Wimbledon is a very unique playing surface so I was especially pleased to be involved in the creation of an outsole that would reduce the wear and tear of the grass while also providing players with a truly high performance grass shoe."
Women’s world number one Dinara Safina and Junior Wimbledon Champion Laura Robson along with Novak Djokovic, Fernando Verdasco, Marat Safin and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are just some of the players who will wear the new outsole during the forthcoming Grand Slam.
