The 8 Best Pickleball Shoes

In the market for a pair of pickleball shoes? Then there are some things you need to know! You’ll thank yourself for reading through our post before purchasing your first pair of shoes. If you bought the first shoes you came across, it will likely cost you more in the long run.

I, for one, have been guilty of this in the past, but no more!

In this post, I will explain everything you need to know about pickleball shoes and provide some of my favorite options. I’ll cover the best pickleball shoes for men and women, so everyone has a suitable pair. Enjoy!

Featured Products

Asics Men’s Gel-Challenger 12 Tennis Shoes — Best Pickleball Shoes for 2024 for Men

Asics Women’s Sky Elite FlyteFoam Mid Top Court Shoes — Best Pickleball Shoes for 2024 for Women

Nike Men’s Court Lite 2 Tennis Shoe — Longest Warranty Period

 

Our Research Parameters

Ping Pong ruler is independent and not pressured by manufacturers to recommend products. We were not paid for the reviews in this article. These pickleball shoes were selected by our team, who have over 25 years of experience playing sports and hundreds of hours reviewing products. We may earn an affiliate commission when you purchase something through our retail links.

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Best Pickleball Shoes for Men

1. K-Swiss Men’s Express Light Pickleball Shoe

Specifications

• Type of shoe: Pickleball
• Indoors/Outdoors: Outdoors
• Available sizes: 7-13
• Available colors: Black/lollipop, highrise/navy, dark blue/white/bittersweet, barely blue/white/brilliant blue black
• Warranty: 1 year

Pros

• Available in multiple colors
• Durawrap in the toe box protects against toe-dragging
• Highly breathable

Cons

• Sizes run a little small
• No removable insoles

Rating: 9.4

As one of the few dedicated pickleball shoes, the K-Swiss Express Light is a shoe you should consider. Special EVA foam supports the midsole giving you high levels of comfort while extending the shoe’s durability.

The outsole is also very durable, made from a high-density rubber compound with a modified herringbone grip. The Express Light even has a durawrap guard on the upper part of the toe box to protect against toe-dragging — a movement many players are guilty of.

Another area we love is breathability. The open-cell structure of the Ortholite foam helps to wick away moisture to keep your feet cool and dry. The Express Light is certainly up there as one of the best court shoes for pickleball.

2. Asics Men’s Gel-Challenger 12 Tennis Shoes — Best Men’s Shoe

Specifications

• Type of shoe: Tennis
• Indoors/Outdoors: Outdoors
• Available sizes: 7-14
• Available colors: White/silver, black/silver, cherry tomato/black, mako blue/gunmetal, white/peacoat
• Warranty: 1 year

Pros

• Available in multiple colors
• Lightweight Solyte™ midsole
• Very comfortable
• Removable insole

Cons

• A little narrow

Rating: 9.7

One of the advantages of the Gel-Challenger 12 over other Asics shoes is the Solyte™ midsole material. It is much lighter than standard Asics EVA and SpEVA™ midsoles, yet it provides great cushioning. And as with other Asics shoes, the rearfoot and forefoot are very comfortable due to the GEL technology cushioning system. You even can remove the insole for the use of a medical orthotic. So all of your bases are really covered in terms of comfort.

Other great features include the TRUSSTIC™ System, which enhances grip to prevent overtwisting, which can lead to injuries. And also the AHARPLUS outsole, which mitigates wear and tear. I couldn’t find any major issues with this pair of shoes, and trust me, I looked hard! Therefore, this makes the Gel-Challenger 12s the best court shoes for pickleball.

3. Nike Men’s Court Lite 2 Tennis Shoe — Longest Warranty Period

Specifications

• Type of shoe: Tennis
• Indoors/Outdoors: Outdoors
• Available sizes: 9.5-15
• Available colors: White/black-white, black/white – white
• Warranty: 2 years

Pros

• Multiple colors available
• Thousands of happy buyers

Cons

• Not particularly comfortable
• Poor arch support

Rating: 8.8

Nike’s Court 2 Lite shoes are designed for hard courts and feature an EVA midsole and rubber outsole. While they are not the most comfortable shoes you can buy, they provide plenty of support which we believe is more important. The outsole uses 5 specific patterns to accommodate the 5 basic movements that new pickleball players must master.

The arch support isn’t the best on the Court 2 lite shoes, but you can always add insoles if you find they are not a great fit. We don’t think they are quite the best sneakers for pickleball, but thousands of buyers are happy with them, and we think they are a lot better than most pickleball shoe options.

4. Head Men’s Grid 2.0 Low Racquetball/Squash Indoor Court Shoes

Specifications

• Type of shoe: Racquetball/squash
• Indoors/Outdoors: Indoors
• Available sizes: 7.5-13
• Available colors: Black/white, white/navy
• Warranty: 2 years

Pros

• Breathable
• Durable

Cons

• Plain looking

Rating: 9.1

The Head Grid 2.0 shoe may be marketed for racquetball and squash, but it makes for a great shoe for pickleball. Head’s Cooling System™ keeps your feet cool by absorbing and releasing excess heat. Yet the mesh coverage is not so widespread that it would negatively affect longevity.

Also present in the shoes is Head’s Hybrasion™ technology. It’s a high-abrasion compound designed for the susceptible areas of the rubber sole, and it also provides significant toe-drag protection. As such, you can expect this pair of shoes to last for a long time.

5. Asics Men’s Gel-Renma Pickleball Shoes

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Specifications

Type of shoe: Pickleball

Indoors/Outdoors: Indoors

Available sizes: 6-14

Available colors: Black/white, white/black, white/deep ocean

Warranty: 1 year

Pros

• Highly affordable
• Available in multiple colors
• Great stability
• Durable

Cons

• No removable insole
• A little narrow

Rating: 9.2

The Asics Gel Renma is one of the few pickleball shoes specifically designed for pickleball. As such, it should come as no surprise that it has proven quite popular with pickleball players. It features TRUSSTIC™ tech like many of their other shoes and Forefoot Gel technology. This aids with impact absorption during abrupt landings. However, I feel this could also help for abrupt stops where you desperately try to remain outside of the kitchen.

These shoes also utilize rubber sole flex grooves. Unlike running shoes, the grooves have a form that provides multidirectional support, pretty important given that pickleball involves a tonne of lateral movement. So the tech is there, but what about the price? Well, that’s really impressive too. The Gel-Renmas are the least expensive men’s shoes on the list, so they are certainly one of the best pickleball shoes if you are on a tight budget.

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Best Pickleball Shoes for Women

1. Asics Women’s Sky Elite FlyteFoam Mid Top Court Shoes — Best Women’s Shoe

Specifications

• Type of shoe: Volleyball
• Indoors/Outdoors: Indoors
• Available sizes: 6-14
• Available colors: White/pure silver, electric blue/white, white/laser pink, white frosted almond
• Warranty: 1 year

Pros

• Available in multiple colors
• Lightweight and springy midsole
• Very comfortable
• Removable insole

Cons

• Expensive
• A little narrow

Rating: 9.3

The Sky Elite Flytefoam is one of Asics most advanced women’s pickleball shoes even though they are volleyball shoes. Unsurprisingly, it uses Asics TRUSSTIC™ technology, which is a staple of their shoes. It helps to stabilize the foot to prevent excessive twisting. You also get the standard Gel technology at the rear of the foot, which is of particular help when landing from smashes.

One of the less common features we like is present in the midsole: FluidRide™ technology. This incorporates a mix of Solyte™ and SpEVA™ to get both a lightweight and spongey midsole. You can also remove the insole if you want to use your own.

We don’t see many issues with this shoe. The cost is expensive, but it’s worth the money. Perhaps a bigger drawback is sizing. We found that they run a little narrow. All things considered, they are the best women’s pickleball shoes available for 2024.

2. Asics Women’s Gel-Game 8 Tennis Shoes

Specifications

• Type of shoe: Tennis
• Indoors/Outdoors: Outdoors
• Available sizes: 5-12
• Available colors: Murasaki/white, white/light indigo, white/black, white/blazing coral, peacoat/pure silver, pink cameo/white
• Warranty: 1 year

Pros

• Highly breathable
• Available in multiple colors
• Very comfortable

Cons

• No mention of whether the soles are removable
• A little narrow

Rating: 9.1

The focus of the Gel-Game 8 is to maximize breathability and flexibility. It uses an open mesh design to keep your feet cool. The synthetic leather overlays are paired with a polyurethane film to enhance firmness when making quick movements. As with the other Asics shoes that made this list, TRUSSTIC™ technology is also present. The gel support at the forefoot helps keep you comfortable when you are on your toes and prevents you from over-twisting. Simply a great pair of ladies’ pickleball shoes!

3. Asics Women’s Gel-Delicate 7 Tennis Shoes

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Specifications

• Type of shoe: Tennis
• Indoors/Outdoors: Outdoors
• Available sizes: 5-12
• Available colors: Black/white, white/pure silver, white/smoke blue, soft sky/dive blue, peacoat/pure silver, light indigo/white, white/periwinkle blue, white/lapis lazuli blue
• Warranty: 1 year

Pros

• Highly affordable
• Available in multiple colors
• Very comfortable

Cons

• Not that breathable
• A little narrow

Rating: 9

While the Gel-Delicate 7s are probably the most basic women’s pickleball shoes on this list, they are a great option if you are after an affordable pair of pickleball shoes. At around half the price of the Gel-Game 8s, they are certainly ones to consider. They also come in a range of different colors so there should be a pair to fit your style.

The shoe’s upper material is made from synthetic leather for comfort, and the TRUSSTIC™ tech and wrap-up outsole provide plenty of stability. Their only issue is that they are not that breathable, so if you find your feet are constantly overheating, you might want to consider one of the other options. Regardless, we think that they are among the best outdoor pickleball shoes for women.

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Pickleball Shoe Buyer’s Guide

While it’s easy to overlook proper footwear, you really should consider investing in a pair of quality pickleball shoes. Not only will they provide a tonne more protection and comfort than the worn-out pair of shoes you are likely using, but if you choose correctly, they will also be far more suited to the sport of pickleball.

You see, pickleball involves a lot of lateral movement, both forward and backward, and side to side. Therefore if you purchase a pair of generic trainers, they will likely not provide sufficient padding to protect your feet. The result is that they could be uncomfortable to wear for long periods, and worst-case scenario, they could promote injury.

Unfortunately, there are very few types of shoes specifically designed for pickleball. This forces us to look toward similar sports for the best shoes.

Indoor Pickleball Shoes

Indoor pickleball is often played on indoor courts made from wood. This means you need a really grippy shoe because the floor can be somewhat slippery. Try to choose a shoe from a similar sport, such as badminton or volleyball. These sports use similar courts and have similar lateral movement patterns. This makes them great choices for pickleball.

Outdoor Pickleball Shoes

Playing pickleball on concrete or asphalt wears away at your pickleball sneakers, so you need a pair with high durability. Your mind may go straight to running shoes, but we recommend avoiding them as they are not good for pickleball. Running shoes are built for forward motion with heavy impacts on the heels.

As such, they lack the support needed for side-to-side movement. They also have thicker soles at the heels and thinner soles at the ball than what is ideal for pickleball.

Tennis shoes, on the other hand, are the perfect fit! The court and movement patterns are similar to pickleball, as are the shoe requirements. And the great thing is, there’s ample supply so that any great pair can serve as pickleball court shoes.

Comfort

With movements in all directions, your feet take quite a bit of punishment during pickleball. The best shoes for pickleball provide just the right amount of padding and support to keep them lightweight yet comfortable.

Breathability

Pickleball is a fairly demanding sport, and you’ll likely sweat a lot — especially if you’re playing in hot, humid conditions. So do yourself a favor and purchase a pair of court shoes for pickleball that are breathable. Your feet will thank you for it.

Durability

There’s nothing worse than investing money into something to see it fall apart only a short while after buying it. This is why you should seek durable shoes as while they might be more expensive, they provide better value for money as they need replacing less often. We also recommend paying particular attention to which shoes are for indoor courts and which are for outdoors. If you buy the wrong kind, you could accelerate the rate at which your shoes degrade.

If you want to learn a little more about choosing the correct best shoes for pickleball for 2024, I recommend checking out the video below. This gent does a great job breaking down the basics.

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FAQs

What Kind of Shoes Should You Wear for Pickleball?

Any kind of sports shoe that mimics the conditions of pickleball is perfect. For outdoor pickleball, tennis shoes are the best choice. And for indoors, badminton, squash, and volleyball shoes are all good choices.

What Is the Difference Between a Partial Herringbone Tread Pattern vs Full Herringbone?

A full herringbone tread pattern is a tread with a zigzag design perpendicular to the direction of your feet. It’s primarily used for clay courts and provides optimal grip when traveling forwards and backward. However, it isn’t well suited to pickleball as it is usually played on asphalt or concrete. Instead, you are better off using shoes with a partial herringbone tread pattern. These shoes use a mixed tread design to cater to movements in all directions.

Can You Wear Tennis Shoes for Pickleball?

Tennis shoes are great for pickleball. This is because you play tennis on a very similar court, and the movement is almost identical, just on a smaller scale. Remember that pickleball tennis shoes are best suited for outdoor pickleball, not indoor pickleball.

Is There a Difference Between Indoor and Outdoor Pickleball Shoes?

While it used to be easy to tell indoor and outdoor shoes apart, the lines have become blurred of late. Indoor shoes used to be made almost entirely of organic gum, with outdoor shoes instead of using resilient synthetic rubber. However, these days many shoes use various blends of gum and rubber for both indoor and outdoor shoes.

Often an outdoor shoe is fairly easy to identify from its style. Nonetheless, we always recommend checking out the shoe’s product description to be sure.

What’s the Difference Between Pickleball Shoes and Tennis Shoes?

There is a lot of overlap between pickleball shoes and tennis shoes. This is because you play both sports on similar courts, and they have similar movements. At least, that’s the case for outdoor pickleball shoes and outdoor tennis shoes designed for asphalt courts.

However, some tennis shoes tailor toward the other type of court materials, such as clay and grass. Similarly, pickleball is sometimes played indoors, these pickleball courts usually feature hardwood floors. As such, if you are playing pickleball indoors, tennis shoes are best avoided.

Can You Wear Running Shoes to Play Pickleball?

Running shoes are not ideal for pickleball as they are predominantly designed to support your feet for forward movements. Pickleball, however, is very side-to-side focused, so you need shoes with more support on the sides.

Final Thoughts – Which Shoes Do We Recommend?

We have no trouble recommending any of the pickleball shoes on this list as we found all of them to be very high quality. However, there were a few pairs that stood out to us.

In our opinion, the best pickleball shoes for men are the Asics Men’s Gel-Challenger 12s. They are outdoor shoes that are well-supported, breathable, and come in 5 different colors, so there is a pair to fit everyone’s preferred style. We couldn’t find any issues with them, so they take the number 1 spot overall.

As for the top pickleball shoes for women, we credit the Asics Women’s Sky Elite FlyteFoam MTs. They may be a touch more expensive than the other shoes on this list but are well worth the money. They look incredible and are packed with advanced Asics tech such as the TRUSSTIC™ system and FluidRide™ midsole which helps keep the shoe light and springy while preventing over-twisting. Please note this is an indoor shoe, so if you are playing pickleball outdoors instead, consider the Asics Women’s Gel-Game 8. We love that shoe too!

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