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Ah, pickleball. If you’re a fan of the racquet sport, the mere mention of a “dink shot” might be enough to make you smile. But that also means a bad set or injury can sully the mood just as quickly. Whether you’re an avid pickleball player or an enthusiastic beginner, a good pair of pickleball shoes can make a huge difference in preventing injury and helping you move around the court with ease. Just take it from the pickleball pros.
“I’ve witnessed a significant number of injuries, [and] most of these injuries can be attributed to players underestimating the importance of wearing appropriate court shoes,” says Laura Gainor, founder of Vossberg Gainor — the world’s first Pickleball marketing agency. If you’re not sure whether or not your sneakers make the cut, we tapped pickleball pros, coaches, and aficionados to find out what makes a good pickleball shoe.
We rounded up their recs and sifted through a few more reviews to create a definitive list of the best pickleball shoes based on factors like comfort, style, affordability, and durability. We even added a few pairs from the brand worn by pro pickleball player Parris Todd. Read on to see which shoes you should sport on the court so you can have your strongest, most confident game yet.
What Makes a Good Pickleball Shoe?
Alia Rieker, pickleball leader at Life Time Colorado Springs, says to look for a shoe that isn’t too heavy and has a tread (the bottom part of the shoe) that can hold up well over time. Ideally, you want a shoe that can support lateral, forward, and backward movement.
What if you’re a beginner — can you use a sneaker you already have, like your favorite running shoes? That’s a big “no” from Nike Global Trainer and pickleball enthusiast Betina Gozo Shimonek. “The biggest thing NOT to do is wear something like a running shoe, which has a lot of support in the heel to keep you moving forward, but not a ton of support moving side to side,” Shimonek says.
What about your typical cross trainer? For your first few times on the court, Rieker, who trains a ton of first-timers, says it’s OK to wear your favorite cross-training sneakers, as they typically offer more lateral support compared to running sneaks. But she emphasizes caution, suggesting you do ultimately invest in a pair of more court-specific shoes for pickleball. “To protect your toes, ankles, knees and hips, you should eventually purchase a good pair of court shoes to support their movement on the pickleball court,” the coach explains. As the sport explodes across the US, there are more and more sneakers being marketed as pickleball shoes, but other court sneakers (such as those designed for tennis or even indoor volleyball) are a good choice, too.
Another detail you shouldn’t overlook: the toes. You’ll want to make sure your toes move around well in the shoe, Rieker says. “Do they have enough room to grip and clinch, but also splay out and stretch?” she adds. “If my pinky toe is getting pinched in, it impacts how my whole foot moves.” Rieker recommends going to a store to try on some shoes and test out the sneakers with a few common Pickleball moves. “Walk around the store, do some quick stops, jump around — really feel the shoes out and see how happy or sad your feet feel in them,” she says. If you’re still not sure where to start, check out our list of the best pickleball shoes for some ideas.
