KICKS ON COURT

Eccentric tennis star and New York-native John McEnroe helped broaden American brand Nike’s presence in the game. McEnroe’s defiant attitude and counterculture style helped make a not-made-for-tennis Nike sneaker popular in the sport. In 1986, Nike sent the player a prototype of the Nike Air Trainer 1, a sneaker that was intended for cross-training in the gym. The brand instructed McEnroe to not wear them during tournament play, which he disregarded and cemented the mid-top leather sneaker with a forefoot strap in pop culture in the process by debuting the Nike Trainer 1 on the tennis court. The training shoes were later exclusively modified for McEnroe to play on grass and clay surfaces. Nike later released marketing with McEnroe in the sneaker walking through the streets if New York City in a trench coat themed “Rebel with a Cause,” which was a departure from how most sports brands were advertising their tennis athletes at the time.

On the women’s side, Chris Evert would receive a signature tennis sneaker from Converse. By the time the Converse Chris Evert was released, the International Tennis Hall of Famer had already been recognized as Associated Press’ Female Athlete of the year several times, as well as Sports Illustrated’s Sportswoman of the Year. Her signature Converse sneaker was advertised as specifically designed for a woman’s foot and featured Evert’s name emblazoned on the tongue.

The 1980s also saw Nike signing a then 16-year-old Andre Agassi. The player’s unique look and style of play would carry the brand’s tennis sneakers into the next decade and beyond. Similar to Borg’s unabashed style, whom Agassi admitted looking up to, Agassi typified an anti-country club approach to tennis. Agassi’s Nike collection included fluorescent colorways, audacious patterns and materials like denim. His signature sneaker, the Air Tech Challenge II, personified irreverence with a visible Nike Air unit for cushioning and hot lava color accents that were later spotted on musicians like Megadeth guitarist David Mustaine and even former president George H.W. Bush.  

The adidas Edberg Comp was a bulky tech-heavy signature sneaker designed for Swedish tennis ace Stefan Edberg after his first Grand Slam win in Australia. Similar to Agassi’s Tech Challenge, the Edberg’s colors spoke to the era with accents of deep purple, pink, and bright blues.

Serena Williams began her illustrious tennis career endorsing Puma and won six Grand Slam titles wearing the brand’s shoes that featured its Cell cushioning technology. One of the most memorable from Williams line with Puma was a gold pair of the Puma Extrena WN that she wore to win the 2002 French Open.

After Williams’ five-year deal with Puma ended, she went on to sign a sponsorship with Nike where she won 17 more Grand Slams in the brand’s sneakers and was utilized in the Beaverton, Oregon-based company’s marketing campaigns outside of just tennis. To celebrate William’s 23rd Grand Slam title, Nike recreated a successful Michael Jordan ad from 1985 with Serena Williams’ feet. The campaign was not just a nod to Jordan’s Chicago Bulls number of 23, but also feted a crossover collection of tennis sneakers in the style of the original Air Jordan. The sneakers, which used Williams Nike Flare as a canvas, showed the crossover appeal of tennis shoes into overall sneaker culture. 

The brand also collaborated with sneaker and streetwear boutique Packer Shoes and the International Tennis Hall of Fame on limited edition versions of the FILA Original Tennis and T-1 Mid sneakers that debuted during the 2015 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships in Newport.

After adidas took the Stan Smith sneaker off the market for a period of two years in 2012 and 2013, the sneaker would have a major comeback in the world of fashion. Celine designer Phoebe Philo took her final bow on the runway in a pair of the sneakers. Other designers such as Raf Simons, Stella McCartney, Yohji Yamamoto, and Pharrell Williams have all used the Stan Smith as a base for their product collaborations with adidas. The brand itself has also re-released several different versions of the shoe in updated materials and for different special projects.