The worst tennis shoes

Today I'll tell you about a coincidence that has to do with tennis, shoes and feet.

I was on the beach, on the shore.

Walking barefoot on a strip of stones that form a kind of path.

As I let my feet adjust to them, I was thinking about the foot I had seen in a tennis match.

I wondered how a professional player could have it like that.

At this I passed a man who was also walking.

He was walking slowly.

Looking out to sea.

Thinking about his things.

He was about 70 years old.His legs were strong, but his feet were deformed.

He had claw toes and one stuck out from the rest, like a hook.

And two bunions in the shape of balls.

The sight of them made me frown.

What they must have suffered to be like that!

Wide feet encased in narrow shoes —I said to myself.

Like when you're in the back of a car with three other people.

To fit them all in, one of them has to stand almost upright. You sacrifice yourself and go up.

Two different situations, but the same feet.

I saw the tennis player's foot in the Roland Garros semi-final.

It was bothering him and, in the break between games, he took off his shoe.

His toes were crowded, one was clawed and the big one had the beginnings of a bunion.

Once again, wide feet encased in narrow shoes.

Two people with different ages and different jobs

But with the same feet.

Narrow shoes and deformed feet, a classic.

In tennis, stability is basic.

To keep the body upright.

To be able to transmit power.

To run again and again towards that ultimate ball.

And the more space the foot has to adapt to the ground, to stick to it, the more stable the knees and the rest of the body will be.

Every time the foot hits the ground it expands to cushion the impact.

The arch flattens and the toes spread out like a fan.

Like this thousands of times.

Millions of times.

And if there is no room in the shoe, the toes squeeze,

and look for space

and become deformed.

Then come the aches and pains.

And eventually injuries.

Competitive sport is all about performance.

Moreover, it is very difficult to make changes in elite athletes, even if the change is to improve health.

But your case is different.

If you compete as a hobby you can make changes from one day to the next because performance is secondary.

Above all, it is important not to lose your health and avoid injury.

You don't compete for work.

And as I'm talking about feet and shoes, the best change you can make is to use shoes that don't modify your feet.

Minimalist shoes.

Wide.

Without reinforcements.

Without control systems.

Flexible.

And no heel.

So that the shoes adapt to your feet and not the other way round.

A timeless shoe that I like a lot and use every day are the Be lenka Prime.

In white, the colour of tennis.

So that crowded toes, clawed toes and bunions are only for those who can't change their shoes.

Health starts with your feet.