I was watching the wimbeldon over the weekend (I never watch tennis) and was wondering why they don't wear any kind of spikes/cleats when they play on grass

The court is torn up enough with regular shoes. Just imagine if they wore cleats. They'd be playing in a ditch before long.

Can't turn your foot when its planted to the ground with cleats. Golfers wear them to stay planted. Tennis players want to be light, and always moving.

They do usually wear a shoe with a little more tread, more pronounced tread anyways, but by no means are they cleats.

You have to play on them dry but it's not as slick as you would think. Better to slip than break an ankle, but I don't recall ever having a problem when I played on it.

Also, some of the slips aren't just because the grass is slick. Knowing the surface won't skin you alive, it's easier to be more aggressive and try things you wouldn't on a hard court. That's part of why you see some guys on the ground.

[This message has been edited by TennAg (edited 7/7/2009 3:02p).]

yeah, the pros wear shoes that have circular nubs instead of the usual herringbone design.

They wear shoes that are kind of similar to what football players wear on astroturf.