Double fault! Ocular hazards of a tennis sunglass.

B lue-tinted lenses are currently being marketed as devices to enhance visual performance in tennis and as sunglasses for children. These include the Bollé Competivision sunglasses (Bollé, a division of Bushnell, Inc, Overland Park, Kan) and the ProSoft contact lens (Wesley Jesson, Des Plaines, Ill), both of which are intended for tennis, and the Bollé Kids Collection sunglasses. The Competivision lenses are the “official” lenses of the US Professional Tennis Association (teaching professionals), and they were given to linespersons at the 2000 French Open Championship (at Roland Garros). Tennis players of all skill levels may be purchasing these tennis lenses with the expectation of better performance—and of safety in the bright sunlight. Kids may ask for “cool-looking” blue children’s glasses. However, I would argue that the spectral transmission characteristics of all of these lenses make them not only ineffective with respect to visual performance on most tennis courts (and elsewhere) but also a potential hazard to the eyes in bright sunlight.