By Tim Newcomb
[vc_empty_space height="35px"]Shoemakers have been marketing to tennis players for 90 years. That nearly a century of design has offered us a range of on-court materials and off-court fashion statements. The boom years were the ‘80s and ‘90s, when a torrent of brands, with international cred found in no other sport, created a glorious mix of performance and street style.
Most prevalent were the Italian entrants, Lotto, Ellesse and Diadora along with stalwarts Fila and Sergio Tacchini, but that’s just the beginning. Add in the still historically relevant Dunlop (Australia) and Tretorn (Sweden) with the major athletic players from the United States and Germany in Nike, adidas, Puma, New Balance, K-Swiss, Reebok, Converse and the super classy Le Coq Sportif of France, and the list of brands crossing over from court to street and back shines harsh light on today’s lack of variety. Hey, even Gucci made a tennis shoe.