Are tennis shoes suitable for padel?

Are tennis shoes suitable for padel?

The short answer: clay court tennis shoes are an acceptable emergency solution if you play padel once or twice before getting your own shoes. Running shoes are absolutely not. And even that clay court tennis shoe is a compromise you want to replace with a proper padel shoe as quickly as possible. Here is why.

The surface difference nobody mentions

A padel court is artificial turf with sand. That is something quite different from a tennis court, including a clay tennis court. The artificial turf on a padel court consists of curly fibres of approximately 12 millimetres with infill sand between them. The grip your shoe needs on that surface is different from gravel or hardcourt. A good padel court with curly fibres and sufficient sand provides a pleasant combination of grip and controlled sliding. But the shoe must be matched to that surface.

Why running shoes are dangerous

Running shoes are designed for forward motion on asphalt or a treadmill. The sole is smooth and narrow, optimised for a straight line. On artificial turf with sand a running shoe provides virtually no grip. On the first lateral movement, and padel consists of lateral movements, you slide away. Sliding on a court where you do not expect to slide leads to unexpected muscle movements: your ankles, knees and hips compensate in an uncontrolled way. That is exactly how padel injuries occur.

Clay court tennis shoes: the acceptable emergency solution

A clay court tennis shoe has a herringbone tread that works reasonably well on artificial turf with sand. The grip is not ideal, but functional. If you want to play padel once or twice before buying your own shoes, this is the best emergency solution. Hardcourt tennis shoes are too smooth on artificial turf. They work on a hard surface but not on sand.

What a padel shoe does differently

• Sole profile: a padel shoe has a profile specifically designed for grip on artificial turf with sand. The combination of herringbone, small lugs and groove patterns provides both grip at standstill and controlled sliding during direction changes.
• Lateral stability: padel is a sport with many lateral movements. Padel shoes have reinforcements on the sides that hold the foot during quick direction changes. Tennis shoes focus more on heel stability for backward movements along the baseline.
• Shock absorption: shock absorption in a padel shoe sits in the fibre of the artificial turf and in the midsole of the shoe. On courts with thin fibres on a hard base more vibrations come through. A good padel shoe absorbs that. A tennis shoe is not calibrated for that combination.
• Weight and flexibility: padel shoes are generally lighter and more flexible than tennis shoes. The quick starts, stops and rotations in padel require a shoe that moves immediately with the foot.

Court quality also makes a difference

Not all padel courts are the same. A good court has curly fibres of approximately 12 millimetres with sufficient infill sand that absorbs shocks through the fibre. A poor court has short straight monofilament fibres on a concrete base. On those courts vibrations come directly through via foot, knee, hip and back. On a poor court a good shoe with shock absorption is extra important.

Noene insoles: the extra buffer

Whichever shoe you choose, Noene insoles absorb up to 96 percent of the vibrations that travel from the surface through the shoe to your body. We recommend Noene preventively to every player as an additional buffer, not only when complaints arise but precisely to prevent them.

When to switch to padel shoes?

If you play padel more than occasionally, switch to padel shoes. The grip, stability and shock absorption are concretely better than a tennis shoe. The difference is not cosmetic but functional: you move more safely, your feet are better protected and your risk of ankle, knee and muscle injuries drops.