Tennis Injury Treatment in MelbourneStop, Start, Repeat
Tennis does not injure you when you run. It injures you when you stop. A split-step, a hard push off the
outside foot, three metres of sprint, then a violent skidding halt - hundreds of times a match, on a hard
court that gives back nothing.
That is why tennis injuries collect in the ankle, the heel and the forefoot rather than anywhere else.
Isaac Moulton works with complex ankle injury, post-surgical rehabilitation and return to
sport. Alec Hill specialises in heel and tendon pain and is the exclusive podiatrist for
the Maribyrnong Sports Academy. Between them, the two areas tennis punishes most.
deceleration and change of direction, not running, drive most tennis injuries
Court
hard courts transmit far more impact than clay or grass, and grip rather than slide
Shoes
runners are the wrong tool - they are built for forward motion, not sideways loading
General guidance drawn from tennis injury research and clinical experience. Individual risk varies with court surface, playing volume, footwear, technique and injury history.
What is tennis podiatry?
Care built around how you stop, not how you run
Tennis podiatry is the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of foot, ankle and lower limb injuries in
tennis players. It starts from a simple observation: almost nothing in tennis happens in a straight
line, and almost nothing happens slowly.
A point is a sequence of accelerations and abrupt halts. You split-step, load the outside foot, cover
three metres, decelerate hard, recover, and do it again. The foot lands, grips and stops - and every
structure that resists that stop absorbs the force. On a hard court, none of it is dissipated by a slide.
One distinction we correct constantly: tennis leg is not an Achilles injury. It is a
tear of the inner calf muscle, felt as a sudden sharp pain partway up the back of the lower leg, usually
mid-lunge. Achilles problems sit lower and build gradually. The two are managed differently, which is
exactly why the diagnosis comes before the treatment. We see tennis players across Port Melbourne,
Elsternwick and Williamstown, from social hitters to junior academy athletes.
Most tennis foot injuries are overuse injuries. That is not bad news - it means they were preventable, and it means they respond to changing the cause.
Is this you?
Recognise your symptoms
Pick the description closest to what you are feeling. These are the presentations we see week after week
in tennis players across our Melbourne clinics - each links to the full explanation below.
None of these quite fit?
Book an assessment
and we will work it out properly.
About our approach
We look at the surface, the shoe and the stop before we look at your arch.
Tennis rarely injures a player in one dramatic moment. It does it through repetition - the split-step,
the loaded push off the outside foot, the sprint, the skidding stop, the recovery step. Multiply that
across three sets, then across a season, and the ankle, heel and forefoot start to complain.
So the first thing we want to understand is not the shape of your foot. It is your court surface, how
many hours a week you are on it, what you have on your feet, and how you decelerate. Those four things
explain most of what walks into our clinics.
Isaac’s clinical experience spans complex ankle injuries, post-surgical rehabilitation and
strength and conditioning - which is precisely the caseload a lateral-movement sport produces. Alec
specialises in heel and tendon pain and orthotic therapy, and as the exclusive podiatrist for the
Maribyrnong Sports Academy, he works with junior athletes constantly.
A sports and biomechanics
assessment examines how you load, brake and change direction, supported by
gait analysis - movement under load,
rather than a static foot on a mat.
Your running shoes are the wrong tool for this job
It is one of the most common causes of tennis foot injury we see. Running shoes are engineered for
forward motion, with a soft, high midsole and minimal lateral support - which is exactly backwards for
a sport built on sideways loading and hard stops. A tennis-specific shoe with lateral stability and an
outsole matched to your court surface is one of the cheapest injury-prevention decisions available to
you. Length, toe-box shape and heel-lock lacing matter just as much, and we review all of it.
Conditions we treat
What the hard court asks of your feet
Below are the injuries we treat most in tennis players: what is actually happening in the tissue, why the
sport produces it, and how we get you back on court rather than simply telling you to rest.
Ankle
Lateral Ankle Sprains
The most common acute injury in tennis. You lunge wide for a ball, plant on the outside foot, and the ankle rolls inward faster than you can control - overstretching or tearing the ligaments on the outside of the joint. Pain, swelling and bruising follow, and the ankle feels unreliable the next time you push off it.
The first sprain is rarely the whole problem. Ankles that are not properly rehabbed lose the strength and balance that protect them, which is why so many players roll the same ankle repeatedly until it becomes chronically unstable. Complex ankle injury is Isaac’s clinical focus. Read our full guide to ankle sprains, or more broadly on ankle pain.
How we help
Staged rehab, balance and lateral-movement retraining, taping and bracing, and a sports and biomechanics assessment to correct the mechanics behind the roll.
Every serve, split-step and explosive first step loads the Achilles and calf. Achilles tendinopathy builds slowly: stiffness and pain at the back of the heel, worst on the first steps in the morning and at the start of a hit, easing as you warm up, then flaring afterwards. Heel and tendon pain is one of Alec’s clinical specialties.
A note on terminology. Tennis leg is often assumed to be an Achilles problem, but it is not - it is a tear of the inner calf muscle, felt as a sudden sharp pain partway up the back of the lower leg, usually during a lunge. The two are managed differently, which is exactly why getting the diagnosis right matters. See our guide to Achilles pain.
How we help
Accurate diagnosis first, then graded tendon loading programs, soft tissue therapy and dry needling, plus shockwave therapy for long-standing tendon pain.
Sharp heel pain with your first steps in the morning, or when you stand up after sitting between sets, points to plantar fasciitis - an overload of the thick band of tissue supporting your arch.
In tennis it is driven by hard courts, the constant loading of the split-step, and shoes whose cushioning has quietly died mid-season. It eases once you are warm, which is precisely what lures players into playing on it. We work out why the arch is overloading, then treat the pain and the cause together. See our guides to plantar fasciitis and heel and arch pain.
The peroneal tendons run behind the outside ankle bone and fire constantly to stabilise the foot through the lateral movement that defines tennis - the wide push, the recovery step, the sudden change of direction.
They are frequently irritated in the months after an ankle sprain, which makes this a common secondary problem for players with a history of rolled ankles. Because peroneal pain usually signals an underlying stability or biomechanical issue, treating the tendon without addressing the cause simply delays the next flare-up. Read more about peroneal tendinopathy and ankle sprains.
How we help
Targeted strengthening, ankle stability work, and custom orthotics to control foot position and offload the tendon.
Hard courts and lateral push-off drive repetitive force into the bones of the foot - most often the metatarsals, and particularly the fifth on the outside edge, where the loading of a wide lunge concentrates.
Stress injuries build gradually: a pinpoint ache over one spot that worsens through a match and lingers afterwards. Play through it and a stress reaction can become a full fracture. Early diagnosis genuinely changes the outcome here, especially for the fifth metatarsal, which has a poor blood supply and heals slowly. Learn more about stress fractures and foot pain.
How we help
Prompt assessment and imaging referral, structured load management, and gait analysis to correct the forces overloading the bone.
The sport has its own eponymous nail injury for a reason. Every hard stop slides the foot forward inside the shoe and slams the toe into the front of the toe-box. Blood collects under the nail - a subungual haematoma, or tennis toe - and the nail bruises, throbs, and eventually lifts or falls off.
The same friction produces blisters and pressure-driven corns and callouses. Players treat it as part of the sport, but it is a shoe-fit and lacing problem, and it is fixable. Persistent big-toe pain can also signal joint irritation - read about toe pain and big toe arthritis.
How we help
Safe nail and callus care, pressure offloading, and shoe-fit, toe-box and heel-lock lacing advice to stop the foot sliding forward. Ongoing nail problems? See ingrown toenail treatment.
Tennis lives on the forefoot. You wait on the balls of your feet, push off them, and pivot through them. That sustained loading irritates the metatarsal heads, producing an ache or burning across the ball of the foot.
Where the nerve running between the metatarsals becomes compressed, you get the distinctive burning, tingling or numbness shooting into the toes of a Morton’s neuroma - often with a sense of walking on a pebble. Narrow, tight-laced tennis shoes make this considerably worse. Read about forefoot pain and neuroma and bursitis.
How we help
Forefoot padding and metatarsal domes, custom orthotics to redistribute pressure, footwear width review, and shockwave therapy where indicated.
Tennis asks the knee to absorb deceleration hundreds of times a match, from a deep, loaded position. Pain around or behind the kneecap that worsens with lunging, stairs and squatting is common, particularly when foot mechanics or hip strength are not holding up under fatigue late in a match.
Because the foot sits directly beneath the knee, foot posture and how you absorb a stop change the load the knee sees. Treating the knee without looking at the foot underneath it is a short conversation with a long follow-up. Read our guide to knee pain.
How we helpGait analysis, hip and glute strengthening, deceleration retraining, and orthoses where foot mechanics are loading the knee.
Not every niggle needs an appointment. But a rolled ankle that never got rehabbed is how players end up
with three more, and bone pain is never a niggle.
Stop playing, see us urgently
Same-day or next-day assessment
A sudden snap at the back of the ankle or calf, and no push-off
Pain you can cover with a single fingertip, especially on the outside edge of the foot
An ankle you cannot weight-bear on after rolling it
Pain that wakes you at night, or is reproduced by hopping
Pain that intensifies through a match, or limps you off court
Rapid swelling and bruising that has not settled in 48 hours
Book within 1 to 2 weeks
Manageable now, expensive to ignore
Heel pain that is worst on your first steps of the morning
Achilles stiffness that warms up but flares after a hit
An ankle that has rolled more than once, or feels unreliable
Outer ankle pain in the months after a sprain
Burning or numbness into the toes during and after matches
Repeated tennis toe, blisters or callous in the same spot
A junior player with heel pain during a busy tennis season
Rolling the same ankle every season is not bad luck. It is an ankle that never got its strength and balance back - and that is fixable.
Every plan is built around the realities of your tennis - the surface you play on, the hours you play,
the shoes you play in, and the level you are trying to get back to. There is no generic protocol here.
1
Assessment of how you move on court
We look at movement under load, not a static foot on a mat. Tennis is a lateral, decelerating sport, so that is what we test.
Video gait analysis and change-of-direction mechanics
Ankle stability, balance and proprioception testing
Joint range, calf capacity and hip strength testing
Court surface, weekly hours and match load progression
Footwear review: outsole, lateral support, fit, age and lacing
A proper look at your ankle sprain history, not just today’s pain
2
Evidence-based treatment
Treatment follows the diagnosis, not a package. Depending on what we find, your plan may include:
Staged ankle rehab with balance and lateral-movement retraining
Progressive tendon loading for Achilles and peroneal pain
Safe nail and callus care, blister and pressure management
3
Criteria-based return to court
Rather than a date on a calendar, we give you milestones you have to hit before you hit again, before you move laterally at speed, and before you play a competitive match. Isaac’s background in post-surgical rehabilitation shapes how we stage this.
Progressive drills: straight-line, then lateral, then reactive
Single-leg balance and hop testing before you return to matches
Clear pain rules for what you can and cannot play through
Communication with your physio, coach or academy
4
Prevention and performance
Once you are back on court, the job changes: keeping you there. In tennis, that is largely ankle capacity, forefoot tolerance and the right shoe on the right surface.
Ongoing ankle strength and balance work after any sprain
Shoe selection matched to your court surface, and replacement intervals
Sensible progression when hours or surfaces change
Pre-season screening for juniors and competitive players
What we will not do
We will not put you in orthotics because you play tennis. The evidence does not support matching devices to
arch height, and strength, load management and a better shoe fix the majority of tennis foot injuries -
where that is the answer, you will hear it in the first appointment rather than the fifth. We will not
prescribe rest as a treatment for tendon pain, because rest deconditions the tendon and the problem returns
with your first match back. We will not clear an ankle to play a competitive match on balance and strength
it does not yet have, and we will not clear a bone that hurts because you have a club championship in three
weeks. We will tell you the truth about that match, then get you to the start of the next season properly.
Why Up & Running
Podiatrists who understand lateral loading
Tennis is not running with a racquet. The injuries are different because the movement is different, and
the treatment should be too.
Complex ankle injury expertise
Isaac’s clinical experience spans complex ankle injuries, post-surgical rehabilitation and strength and conditioning, with time spent in surgical theatre. Tennis produces exactly that caseload.
Heel and tendon pain specialists
Alec specialises in heel and tendon pain, shin splints and orthotic therapy, with shockwave and foot mobilisation accreditation behind him. The other half of what tennis punishes.
We diagnose before we treat
Tennis leg is not an Achilles injury. Peroneal pain is usually an ankle stability problem. Getting the diagnosis right is not a formality, it is the whole treatment.
Footwear and surface advice that matters
Court surface, outsole, lateral support, toe-box shape and lacing. It sounds minor. It is the cheapest injury prevention in the sport, and it is part of every assessment.
Trusted with junior athletes
Alec is the exclusive podiatrist for the Maribyrnong Sports Academy. Growing tennis players get their own considerations, and our kids’ feet service is built for them.
HICAPS on-the-spot claims
All major health funds accepted. Claim your rebate instantly at every appointment, at every clinic, with no paperwork and no referral required.
Isaac represented Australia as a professional dancer and performed internationally, which exposed him
early to how common foot and ankle injuries are across every athletic population - and gave him a deep
respect for foot care, strength training and injury prevention. His clinical experience spans complex
ankle injuries, post-surgical rehabilitation, strength and conditioning, and the prevention and
management of foot and ankle specific sporting injuries. His career has also included time in surgical
theatre, giving him extensive knowledge of both conservative and surgical approaches to foot and ankle
pathology.
Personal achievements
Showdance finalist in Germany, Korea and Japan
Dual international gold medallist, tap dance
Geelong region soccer premier, two years running
Trinity of London accredited jazz clarinettist
Professional credentials
Qualified in lower limb dry needling
Member, Australian Paediatric Podiatry
Volunteer Podiatrist, International Australian Dance Team
Alec specialises in heel and tendon pain, shin splints and orthotic therapy - the presentations that
dominate a hard-court season. A former personal trainer and representative rugby player, he takes pride
in building tailored management plans that get patients back to the gym, the court or the road rather
than simply out of pain. He is also heavily invested in keeping young athletes injury-free and
performing, and as the exclusive podiatrist for the Maribyrnong Sports Academy he combines elite-level
sports insight with genuine patient care.
Personal achievements
Great Ocean Road marathon finisher
Multiple half marathons, including Blackmore’s and Run Melbourne
Represented Barking Rugby Club, England National Division
This page was written and clinically reviewed by Isaac Moulton and Alec Hill, and is maintained by the
Up & Running Podiatry team. It is general information, not a diagnosis.
Book an assessment to get advice specific to your foot.
Explore our services
Services for tennis players
Commonly part of a tennis player’s treatment plan at our Melbourne clinics.
Three locations across Melbourne's inner west and south. Same-day appointments and all health funds
accepted. Choose the clinic nearest you and book online in under a minute.
The questions we are asked most often by tennis players at our Melbourne clinics.
It is one of the most common causes of tennis foot injury we see. Running shoes are engineered for forward motion, with a soft, high midsole and minimal lateral support - which is precisely the wrong tool for a sport built on sideways loading and hard stops.
A tennis-specific shoe with lateral stability and a durable outsole matched to your court surface is one of the cheapest injury-prevention decisions available. We review footwear as part of every assessment.
No, and the distinction matters. Tennis leg is a tear of the inner calf muscle, felt as a sudden sharp pain partway up the back of the lower leg, usually during a lunge. Achilles problems sit lower, at the tendon just above the heel, and typically build gradually rather than striking in one moment.
They are managed differently, which is why an accurate diagnosis is the first step rather than an afterthought. A sudden snap with no push-off needs urgent assessment either way.
Because the first sprain was almost certainly never rehabbed properly. An ankle sprain does not just stretch ligaments - it degrades the strength, balance and position sense that stop you rolling it again. Once swelling settles and it feels normal, most players go straight back to tennis and the protective system never comes back.
That is how a single sprain becomes chronic ankle instability, and how peroneal tendinopathy arrives a few months later. Complex ankle injury is Isaac’s clinical focus, and it is very treatable.
That is tennis toe - blood collecting under the nail after the foot repeatedly slides forward and slams the toe into the front of the shoe on hard stops. Players accept it as part of the sport, but it is fundamentally a shoe-fit and lacing problem.
Shoe length, toe-box shape, heel-lock lacing and nail care all change how much force reaches the nail. We treat the nail safely and fix the cause. Recurring problems? See ingrown toenail treatment.
That is the classic description of a Morton’s neuroma - irritation of the nerve running between the metatarsals, producing burning, tingling or numbness into the toes. Tennis aggravates it because you load the forefoot constantly, and tight-laced narrow shoes compress the nerve further.
Considerably. Hard courts transmit far more impact into the foot and offer more grip, so the foot stops dead rather than sliding - which loads the ankle and forefoot. Clay allows a controlled slide that dissipates some of that force.
If you play mostly on hard courts, cushioning and shoe replacement matter more, your outsole needs to suit the surface, and your load management needs to reflect it. Switching surfaces mid-season is a load change, and worth treating like one.
Pain that warms up during a hit but flares the next morning is a signal, not something to push through season after season. Tendons and the plantar fascia respond best to correctly dosed load and progressive strengthening, so we will usually keep you playing while adjusting your volume.
Where it has dragged on, we add shockwave therapy or dry needling. Pinpoint bone pain is the exception - that one means stop.
Not always. Orthotics are one tool, prescribed only when your foot mechanics are clearly contributing to the injury. Plenty of players improve with strengthening, load management and a shoe change alone.
Where orthoses are indicated, we build them for your foot and for the lateral demands of tennis - not as a generic insert.
Heel pain in growing, active players is commonly Sever’s disease, an irritation of the heel growth plate. It is common, manageable, and rarely requires full time off sport when addressed early.
Alec is the exclusive podiatrist for the Maribyrnong Sports Academy and works with young athletes regularly. Our kids’ feet service is built for exactly this.
No. Podiatrists are primary contact practitioners, so you can book directly without seeing your GP first. Private health rebates apply with extras cover and can be claimed on the spot through HICAPS at all three clinics.
A referral is only needed if you are accessing a Medicare Chronic Disease Management plan through your GP, which is a separate pathway and not typical for a sporting injury.
Most tennis foot injuries are overuse injuries, which means they are preventable, and they respond best when
caught early. Book with podiatrists who understand lateral loading, hard courts and footwear, and get a clear
diagnosis and a return-to-play plan built for you.
