You’ve probably heard it a million times: court shoes are a must if you’re planning to play any court sport, which is true for tennis and pickleball.
Especially for those of you who are new to pickleball, it might seem fine to just go out and play with a pair of runners, but court shoes are still extremely important. They provide the support and stability you need for safe lateral movement while also being much more durable than other shoes.
Court shoes used to be notoriously uncomfortable, which is why so many players avoid them, but that’s not the case anymore. Over the years, brands have developed more comfortable uppers and softer outsoles while maintaining the necessary structure that makes court shoes so supportive.
Today, we’ll cover the best court shoes in several categories:
- Best supportive shoe
- Best lightweight shoe,
- Most comfortable shoe
- Best shoe specifically for pickleball
- Winner for the best overall court shoe of 2024
The Best Support and Stability Court Shoe
We'll start with supportive court shoes since, despite the rise of lighter, more comfort-oriented shoes, these are still the most popular. Every brand has its flagship supportive court shoe: New Balance has the CT-Rally, Asics the Gel-Resolution and Court FF, Adidas the Barricade, and Babolat the Propulse Fury.
While those are all great options, there’s really only one winner here: Asics maintains its stranglehold on the market with their beloved Gel-Resolution 9, which takes home the Rundie for best supportive court shoe of 2024.
The Resolution has been a fan favourite for decades, and with good reason. Asics has never drastically changed the line, preferring to subtly refine it so customers know exactly what they’re getting into. It’s not like it hasn’t changed over the years, though; what used to be a clunky, rock-solid brick has turned into the well-rounded, comfortable version 9 we have today, but it’s still just as supportive as ever.
This Gel-Res came out almost two years ago (in fact, it’s due for an update in January), and yet it’s still the most popular choice for players looking for support and stability. Asics’ Court FF 3 is perhaps a bit sturdier, but it’s not nearly as comfortable, and because of that, it’s more difficult for the average player to appreciate right away.
We look forward to seeing what Asics has in store with the Gel Resolution X!
asics Gel-Resolution 9 All-Court
women's
The Best Lightweight Court Shoe
While it’s not so much the case anymore (re: what I said about the Resolution 9), the notoriously clunky feel of supportive court shoes led to the creation of lightweight shoes. These are characterized by their mostly mesh uppers, their more minimalistic outsoles, as well as several other technological features that allow them to be so light and nimble. Like supportive shoes, every brand has its own take on the lightweight court shoe: New Balance has the 996, Asics the Solution Speed, Nike the Vapor, Babolat the Jet Tere, and Adidas the Ubersonic.
This is a much tougher award to hand out — there’s not one shoe that stands out as significantly better than the rest — but the one we’ve gone with as the best lightweight court shoe of 2024 is the Asics Solution Speed FF3.
When the FF3 came out in January, it got a lot of the tennis community turning its head thinking, “What?” While it had gotten significantly lighter, it had also lost a ton of rubber, which many people thought would mean no more structure and durability.
That isn’t the case. While the FF3 is a little more flexible than the FF2, it still provides plenty of lateral support, stability, and durability thanks to the strategically placed rubber elements. The lighter weight and more comfortable, natural fit easily make up for whatever slight loss in stability, and you can always go for the Gel-Resolution if you want something more supportive from the same brand.
The FF3 is the type of shoe you go for if you prioritize a quick, nimble, and barefoot feel from your tennis shoes. Those three characteristics sounded like oxymorons when describing court shoes 10 years ago, but that’s no longer the case.
The Most Comfortable Court Shoe
Brands don’t really have a categorized line of “comfortable court shoes” (it wouldn’t make much sense to imply that their other shoes are uncomfortable), but lightweight court shoes tend to also be the most comfortable. That’s because they are stripped of many potentially “uncomfortable” elements, like the full rubber uppers and the stiffer, heavier-duty outsoles.
The Solution Speed FF3 is a very comfortable lightweight court shoe, but it has a unique fit that won’t work for players with very wide feet. One lightweight shoe stands out in terms of comfort: the New Balance 996.
New Balance was onto something when they first released the 996, but it wasn’t until the v3 that they decided to go all out in making the line as comfortable as possible. Since then, they’ve only improved it, and the v6 is a culmination of all that effort. The 996 is known for its buttery-soft mesh upper that accommodates a number of foot shapes and anomalies. It’s also wider than average, and if that’s not enough, there are plenty of width options in both men’s and women’s sizes. The outsole is also very comfortable; it’s plush without going too extreme, of course, because this is still a court shoe.
The 996 continues to be our default recommendation when someone comes in complaining of discomfort, and we hope it stays that way for many years to come. Even out of the box, customers mesh with it right away — a shoe like that is a breeze for shoe-fitters, which is always appreciated.
The Best Pickleball Shoe
Pickleball players can use any hard court shoe, but several characteristics make a shoe better for the pickleball court. Comfort is key because of the sheer number of hours many players spend on court. You also want something quick and nimble because of the way we move in the sport. Extreme lateral support, stability, and durability are not quite as important as in tennis, and there are a number of shoes that fit the bill.
The 996 and Solution Speed that we just talked about are certainly great options, but it’s the K-Swiss Hypercourt Express 2 that takes home the Rundie for the best pickleball shoe of 2024.
The Hypercourt is extremely comfortable, almost on par with the 996, but what makes it stand out compared to a lot of other court shoes is its torsional flexibility. It has a plastic shank that remains sturdy when you’re pushing it laterally but twists a little more when flexing your toes, which complements more agile movement.
Also, for a shoe that is this comfortable, K-Swiss has managed to add a serious amount of rubber to the upper, which makes it very durable, especially in terms of structural integrity. The fit is standard (wide in the toe box, narrower in the heel), so it works for a lot of players; most people who try it on like it right away.
Again, you can use any court shoe on the pickleball court, but if you want one that is tried and true, the K-Swiss Hypercourt 2 is our pick for the pickleball shoe Rundie of 2024.
The Best Overall Court Shoe of 2024
If other brands don’t start catching up soon, it could be that every year we’re crowning the same court shoe as the best of the year. The 2024 best overall court shoe Rundie goes to the Asics Gel-Resolution 9.
Every version of the Resolution has been the best shoe for a while now, and it comes back to what I was saying about Asics subtly refining it rather than drastically overhauling it. This is a concept that other brands seem to struggle with, perhaps because they think radical changes are easier to market, but the Gel-Res shows that you can innovate without going too extreme.
I wasn’t kidding when I said it was a modern technological marvel — while it is a true support and stability shoe, it’s so much lighter, more comfortable, and more natural-feeling than other shoes in its category. To achieve this, Asics combines flexible materials with some of the stiffest and highest energy-returning rubber elements to create this unique sensation of lightness and extreme responsiveness that you really can’t get with any other shoe.
When you factor in the classic Gel-Resolution durability, it becomes a no-brainer to at least consider this shoe, the only small deterrent being its unique fit that doesn’t work for everyone. It has quite a pointy toe box, which can feel a little narrow if you have a particularly wide forefoot, but that’s only an issue for a small minority of people. The reality is, this is the best option for so many players, especially those who prioritize a little bit of everything in their court shoe, so it’s no surprise that it’s won the sales battle by quite some margin for another year running.
We are getting a new Resolution in a month. I’m always worried about that transition because, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but they always seem to prove me wrong by making the new one just that little bit better than the old one.
asics Gel-Resolution 9 All-Court
women's
That wraps up our 2024 Court Shoe Rundies. Hopefully, you can use it as a guide if you are shopping around for a new pair of shoes, either for yourself or as a gift this holiday season. Happy holidays!