Adidas has been working on a new grass court shoe for a few years now in preparation for the 2012 London games (where tennis will played on grass). They pulled in Tim Henman to help design the shoe and have been play testing the new shoe for a while now (Andre and Steffi wore them at the roof exo).
Well they're finally unveiling the shoe at this year's Wimbly. And for all the grass-friendliness talk you'd think the thing had spikes to aerate the lawn:
adidas is proud to announce the launch of a new grass court shoe
outsole, developed in conjunction with The All England Lawn Tennis Club
(AELTC) and designed to protect the most hallowed turf in tennis.
adidas Tennis footwear developers have worked with Wimbledon for the
past two years to create a new outsole for the renowned CC Feather shoe
that will provide the best possible grip on one of tennis's most
testing surfaces, while also reducing the wear and tear of the grass.
The adidas CC Feather IV Grass shoe was developed specifically with the London 2012 Olympic Games in mind when tennis will be played on Wimbledon's grass courts just a few weeks after the Grand Slam has finished.
Traditional grass court footwear digs in to the turf to provide grip which in turn causes extreme court damage. The new outsole on the CC Feather IV Grass features an innovative dimple pattern with fewer, softer and longer spikes. As these spikes are dragged along the surface of the grass they provide unrivalled grip whilst also giving a flat push off area which ensures quick directional change for all players.
Women's world number one Dinara Safina and Junior Wimbledon Champion Laura Robson along with Novak Djokovic, Fernando Verdasco, Marat Safin and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are just some of the players who will wear the new outsole during the forthcoming Grand Slam.
Wimbledon Head Groundsman Eddie Seaward expressed his delight at the introduction of this grass-friendly footwear, "The new dimple pattern created by the adidas Tennis footwear team is the perfect solution to reduce the wear and tear of the Wimbledon courts. The longer but softer spikes do not stick to the surface of the grass and pull it up. Instead these spikes flatten the grass giving players a flat push off area for quick directional change. We have monitored the development of this new outsole for a number of years now and I am looking forward to seeing it in action at The Championships next week."
The adidas CC Feather IV Grass shoe was developed specifically with the London 2012 Olympic Games in mind when tennis will be played on Wimbledon's grass courts just a few weeks after the Grand Slam has finished.
Traditional grass court footwear digs in to the turf to provide grip which in turn causes extreme court damage. The new outsole on the CC Feather IV Grass features an innovative dimple pattern with fewer, softer and longer spikes. As these spikes are dragged along the surface of the grass they provide unrivalled grip whilst also giving a flat push off area which ensures quick directional change for all players.
Women's world number one Dinara Safina and Junior Wimbledon Champion Laura Robson along with Novak Djokovic, Fernando Verdasco, Marat Safin and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga are just some of the players who will wear the new outsole during the forthcoming Grand Slam.
Wimbledon Head Groundsman Eddie Seaward expressed his delight at the introduction of this grass-friendly footwear, "The new dimple pattern created by the adidas Tennis footwear team is the perfect solution to reduce the wear and tear of the Wimbledon courts. The longer but softer spikes do not stick to the surface of the grass and pull it up. Instead these spikes flatten the grass giving players a flat push off area for quick directional change. We have monitored the development of this new outsole for a number of years now and I am looking forward to seeing it in action at The Championships next week."
What, does Ana have such negative memories of Wimbly that she's refusing to wear these hallowed-ground-protecting shoes? HOW DARE YOU, ELEPHANT!
And here's Nole and his loverly skin bouncing around on his Clima Cool Geniuses
