Over the years, the Grand Slam’s heavy hitters have left a blistering mark on sneaker culture. From the technically perfect adidas Stan Smith to Andre Agassi’s resurgent Air Tech Challenge II, sneaker collectors and tennis fans have long kept a Hawk-Eye on the footwear sliding across centre court. With the world’s best rallying around Roland-Garros searching for Olympic gold, we figured it was high time to trigger the review and take a look back at some of our all-time favourites. Advantage, sneakerheads.
Andre Agassi’s Nike Air Tech Challenge 2 (1990)
In 1990, Andre Agassi was the tennis bad boy. He refused to abide by the game's conservative conventions and laughed in the face of its strict dress codes. He even refused to play at Wimbledon in protest of its rigorous all-white uniform stipulations. No surprises then that his most famous signature shoe was a flashy one. The Tinker Hatfield-designed Air Tech Challenge II and its beloved ‘Hot Lava’ colourway threw aside the gentlemanly style of other tennis shoes and embraced Agassi’s bombastic style. Of course, contemporary sneaker culture is always looking to crack into the archives for inspiration. The most high profile homage to the Air Tech Challenge II was Kanye West’s Air Yeezy II. Now enjoying mythological status in the sneaker space, West lifted the entire Air Tech Challenge II midsole for his Swoosh opus, and the classic midsole was paired with an anatomical spinal heel that recalled Batman’s armoured suit. Another notable tribute was Nike which imitated the indelible red splatter across its heels. Remember kids, ‘image is everything!’
John McEnroe’s Air Trainer 1 (1987)
Okay so this isn’t technically a signature, but it’s one of the most important shoes to hit the court and it's forever tied to one player, so we’re going with it. Until the late 80s, performance shoes were sport-specific. Running shoes were for running, basketball shoes were for basketball and tennis shoes were strictly for the court. That is, until Tinker Hatfield designed a shoe that could do everything: the Air Trainer 1. The shoe signalled the dawn of 'cross-training'. John McEnroe debuted the Air Trainer 1 on court in 1987, noting that the mid-top gave him the jump and lateral support that he needed. The Swoosh scored an ace with the strapped trainer – its original ‘Chlorophyll’ colourway is still lauded as one Nike’s greatest ever. In more recent times, the intrepid cross-trainer boarded the Travis Scott hype train in 2022, helping John McEnroe and his unofficial signature sneaker strut onto centre court once again. Arriving in multiple colourways, the collaboration helped kick-start the retro tennis revival more broadly, which led to a whole new generation of athlete collaborations and old school retros.
Stan Smith’s Stan Smiths (1971)
The Stan Smith has a long and varied history. At a time when tennis players wore plimsolls – that is, canvas shoes with a rubber sole – adidas made the first leather court shoe. Originally called the Haillet, the simple white shoe was signed over to Stan Smith in 1971. The green-heeled trainer is unique on this list, having fully transcended its OG purpose and become a staple for everyone from Kanye West to the kid next door. Rarely being out of fashion since its release, it is still the Three Stripes’ bestselling shoe of all time. One of the most popular models for collaborators across the globe, adidas recently teamed up with psychedelic California collective Brain Dead to launch their very own Stan Smith, appropriately launched during the prestigious Wimbledon tournament.
Roger Federer’s NikeCourt Vapor Line
Roger Federer’s signature NikeCourt Vapors don’t just make this list for their on-court performance – though considering Fed’s 20 grand slam wins, that can’t be denied – but also for the way they play with years of Nike heritage. The Vapor 9.5 AJ3 was a meeting of the GOATs, combining the shoes of two of the world’s greatest athletes. It looked the part too, appropriately dressed in the elephant print made famous by the Jordan 3. Since then we’ve also seen homages to the Air Max 95s ‘Neon’ and ‘Greedy’ and atmos’ ‘Elephant’ Air Max 1.
Serena William’s NikeCourt Flare (2015)
We can’t have a list of the best signature tennis shoes without talking about the best player to ever hit the court. Serena Williams has won 23 grand slam singles titles, 14 doubles titles and 4 Olympic gold medals. The NikeCourt Flare was designed to feel like an extension of the body, with its neoprene ankle collar providing the wearer more body awareness. Like Fed’s Vapors, Serena’s Flares often use classic Nike designs as inspiration – we’ve seen them done in both ‘Bred’ and ‘Olympic’ colourways – we also saw some playful reinterpretations of Michael Jordan’s iconic print advertisements!
BONUS: Off-White x NikeCourt Flare 2 'Queen' (2018)
While we're on the subject, it would be remiss of us not to mention Serena's link-up with Virgil. The Off-White x Nike 'Queen' collection featured a slew of silhouettes for release, but the Court Flare 2 was kept exclusively for Serena. The Virgil Abloh-designed kit didn't stop there – during the 2018 US Open, Serena rocked the Court Flares with a full Off-White x Nike fit. Back on the Pro Tour after the birth of her daughter, Serena reached the US Open Final where she fell to Naomi Osaka in three sets. Unfortunately, Virgil Abloh tragically passed away on November 28, 2021. Read more about his legacy, right here.