Either way, the midsole can make a difference in your overall agility, so choose carefully. As for durability, you can expect the midsole to last between 75 - 100 hours of play or about six months for most weekend players. In light of the hard surfaces most of us play on, it is important to remember that you can wear out your knees, or possibly risk injury, by wearing worn-out shoes. This is where tennis shoes differ from their many cross-training or basketball cousins. Due to the exaggerated starting and stopping movements, the outsole of a tennis shoe is specially designed to handle friction and traction.
Friction causes outsole wear.
This 3D pattern allows for maximum traction during both medial and lateral movements and is placed on specific areas of the outsole to aid grip. While shallow tread patterns works well on hard courts, a deeper pattern works better on loose surfaces such as cinder or even clay. For those rare occasions when you might play on a super smooth surface, softer, more flexible rubber compounds, like gum rubber, works best. Along with the aforementioned features, the relative aggressiveness of your play during a normal match should also be a factor in selecting the right shoe. Although most manufacturers don t market their shoes by playing style, it s becoming more usual for players to ask for this type of categorization.