Ally Baker, once a rising tennis star, blames shoes for career-ending injury

Ally Baker of Raleigh was once one of the rising young talents in American tennis. She trained in Florida, turned professional at 16 and appeared to have the talent, and charisma, to be a star in her sport.

But a left foot injury ended her career. And now Baker, on track to graduate from the University of North Carolina this fall, believes the shoes Adidas provided her led to the injury. Baker, 22, is suing Adidas because she and her family believe the company was negligent.

A Raleigh attorney representing Adidas said the company is willing to look at potential liabilities in the courts, but that it has not been established the shoes caused the injury. Adidas also believes the case should be heard in Amsterdam in the Netherlands, not in a U.S. court.

Baker began getting Adidas apparel when she was one of the country’s top-ranked juniors. While Baker is now a normal college student and working in Raleigh this summer at a wealth-management firm, she was once well-known in tennis circles as a tall, left-handed prodigy with significant pro promise. Her potential drew the interest of Adidas.

“You get these huge bags of clothes and shoes. It was so cool,” she said. “It would be tons and tons of shoes. But it was always one kind of shoe, whatever they were marketing at the time. But when you are 12 and 13 and these big Adidas people are giving you shoes, you just take them and don’t question them.”

Baker reached the third round of the Wimbledon juniors tournament in 2002, when she was 16. As her career continued, she started having pain in her left foot.

But nothing showed up in MRIs.

“All my life, with tennis at that level, you are constantly playing with pain,” she said. “For all that time, it was just in me that I was really tough and could take pain well. I had no idea how severe it was.”

She had surgery in 2004 and struggled to walk for a year. Even now, she can’t run because of the damage.

Allison Ficken, an Atlanta attorney who represents Baker and is her aunt, said they filed a complaint about a year ago accusing Adidas of negligence.

“She was about 13 and 14 and they began sending her shoes without looking at her feet.

When she was injured, they sent someone out and did a thorough examination and said, ‘Whoops, these shoes are three sizes too wide,’” Ficken said.

“And they drastically re-designed the shoes. But it was too late at that point.”

Baker had done irreparable damage to her left foot, Ficken said. Baker has since had extensive medical expenses and also lost potential earnings she could have had as a professional player and from endorsements, the family says.

“Basically what [Baker’s doctors] say is the injury was caused by prolonged stress to the foot. Nothing sudden happened,” Ficken said. “It was caused by prolonged stress, which essentially tore the entire ligament that runs deep inside her foot.

“The shoes she was wearing were so wide and so flat – she has narrow feet – that her feet were sliding inside the shoe. She had no lateral support. That was causing massive stress to her foot.”

The suit went to federal court in New Bern, but the judge there upheld Adidas’ claim that the dispute had to be resolved in Amsterdam. Adidas is a German company, but has significant operations based out of Amsterdam.

Bob Meynardie, a Raleigh attorney representing Adidas, said, “Ally signed a contract with Adidas that contained a provision requiring any disputes between her and Adidas to go through Amsterdam. We asked the court to enforce that contract, specifically that provision.”

Ficken said Baker has appealed that ruling in the U.S. courts, but may also decide to file a suit in Amsterdam.

As for whether the shoes caused the injury, Meynardie said it is still early in the legal process.