Author: Racquet Network

Racquet Network staff are certified experts. Many are also certified coaches. Racquet Network Experts undergo extensive training and product knowledge testing in order to ensure that we have the most knowledgeable staff in the racquet sports industry.
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How Should Ladies Pickleball Shoes Fit?

Babolat Shadow Tour pickleball shoe

Our shoe experts fit more than a thousand players a year. Many of these are pickleball players and many of these players are women. As a result, we have opportunities to see many patterns that are repeated amongst groups of athletes.

For example, we hear this comment from female pickleball players several times every week: “I have wide feet, so I have a hard time finding shoes that fit.”

Babolat Ladies Pickleball Shoes

A sample of our Babolat ladies indoor pickeball shoes.

In fact, only a small percentage of the female pickleball players our experts fit turn out to have genuinely wide feet. What we find instead is that their feet are not wide, they are just wearing shoes that are the wrong size for their feet.

A shoe size numbers go up, the shoes get a little longer. They also get a little wider. In our experience, more than half of the women who tell us that they have wide feet are actually a B width, which is standard for women. They just think they are wide because they have been buying shoes that are the wrong length. Once we get them into a shoe of the correct length, the width issue takes care of itself.

Too many ladies think that their court shoes should fit like surgical gloves when, instead, they should fit like winter mittens. This is perhaps the most difficult thing to teach older female athletes. They have been conditioned by decades of social pressures to think that smaller is better, when smaller shoes are actually very unhealthy and can lead to permanent damage to sensitive feet.

Yonex Ladies Pickleball Shoes

A sample of our Yonex ladies indoor pickeball shoes.

Too many of these ladies get focused on the numbers. “I’m not a 9!” they will insist. “I have never been a 9!!”

Please, ladies. Forget about the numbers and consider the health of your feet. Court shoes have to be bigger than your walking-around-shoes because you will be subjecting your feet to higher athletic stresses when playing pickleball than you will be when you are just walking around.

Your feet have to have room to move around inside of your shoes. When you plant on your outside foot to hit a ball cross court, your toes need to spread or you may lose your balance. And if your shoes are so tight that your toes cannot spread, they will eventually start to hurt.

Asics Ladies Pickleball Shoes

A sample of our Asics ladies indoor pickeball shoes.

The same is true when your feet push off to move you left or right. Every time you do this, your toes try to spread. If they have the room to spread, your balance will be better and you will be able to move faster.

Shoes that are too short will also be too narrow. This will lead to discomfort that can turn into blisters or even chronic pain.

Don’t believe us? Come in for an expert fitting. Chances are you are not as wide as you think you are. Statistically speaking, the odds are good that you are just wearing shoes that are too short for your feet.

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Become a Racquet Network Playtester

Become a Racquet Network Playtester

Racquet Network invites frequent intermediate racquet sports players to become Product Playtesters.

Product Playtesters are brand ambassadors who test racquets, strings, shoes and other products during their regular activities and then write product reviews which are published on our website.

Even though they do not work for us, we consider Product Playtesters to be part of the family and we allow them to purchase everything we sell at staff price.

In many cases, Product Playtesters are allowed to keep what they test. In some cases, they have the option of purchasing tested products at staff price once testing is complete.

In order to become a Product Playtesters, an applicant must be a frequent player at the intermediate level who has been a Racquet Network customer for at least one full year. They must be active in their sport at least nine months per year, must be active on social media channels and must demonstrate enthusiasm for Racquet Network on their social media accounts.

Racquet Network supports a maximum of five product testers in each of the following sports:

  • tennis
  • squash
  • badminton
  • pickleball
  • racquetball

To apply to become a product tester, please send an email to orders@racquetnetwork.com.

Before you do that, however, consider the following points carefully.

  • We only consider applicants who live in Calgary.
  • We only consider customers who have been with us for a year or more.
  • We only consider frequent intermediate players — not beginners, not experts.
  • We only consider people who are active in their sport nine months a year or more.
  • We only consider people who have already shown us love on their social media accounts.

All new Product Playtesters start on a waiting list and remain there for a minimum of three months while they wait for a position to come open. When/if they are accepted as Product Playtesters, they get a maximum term of one year.

Sorry. There are no exceptions. After one year, it is time to step aside and allow somebody else to have this opportunity.

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How Should a Pickleball Shoe Fit?

How should a pickleball shoe fit?
How should a pickleball shoe fit?
A pickleball shoe (any court shoe, really) should fit like a winter mitten, not a surgical glove.

If you choose a pair of pickleball shoes that fit like surgical gloves, you are asking for trouble. The result is sure to be unnecessary foot pain.

Unlike surgical gloves, which fit tightly, court shoes should have a relaxed and roomy fit — like a winter mitten. They should not fit so loosely that they are falling off, but there should definitely be space for your toes to spread out and move up and down. There should be a slight bit of movement in the heel as well. As long as this is movement without friction, a bit of heel movement is healthy and desirable.

The most important thing to understand about pickleball shoes is that there should be a full thumb-width of space between the end of your toe and the end of the shoe. This space will prevent your toe from slamming into the end of the toe box when you stop and reverse. If this space is insufficient, you will probably end up with black toenails that fall off and take months to grow back.

Pickleball shoes should never be tight. A relaxed fit prevents your shoes from impeding circulation. Over-tightening them restricts blood flow and contributes to premature foot fatigue.

For these same reasons, pickleball shoes should be sufficiently wide. Shoes that are too narrow not only cut off circulation, they contribute to off-balancing which is a contributing factor to on-court trips and falls.

The best way to ensure that your pickleball shoes fit is to come into our store and have one of our shoe experts fit you properly.

We will ask you a series of questions about where you are playing and how frequently you are playing. We will also make sure that the shoes you buy are both long enough and wide enough.

Unlike some of the box stores, our shoe experts are not focused on telling you want you want to hear. We are committed to tell you what you need to hear. We are committed to tell you the truth.

That is why we have hundreds of five-star reviews and customers that come back again and again and again.

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Best Pickleball Shoes – Beware the BS

Best Pickleball Shoe
What is the best shoe for pickleball?
Wow. There is a lot of nonsense floating around on the Internet about “best pickleball shoes”.

Most of these so-called experts have included the Asics ™ Gel-Rocket in their Top 5, when in fact the Rocket is — at best — a mediocre budget shoe that will not withstand long term adult use.

And how are these “experts” defining best? Best for whom? Best for what?

At Racquet Network, we treat each customer as an individual and try to figure out what is best for them.

For example, if you are playing pickleball indoors at facility with squeaky clean hardwood floors, we will advise a completely different shoe than we would if you told us that you were playing on hardwood floors in a school gymnasium.

This is because we know that players can get away with lower grade rubber when the floors are in pristine condition. But we also know that when floors are not in perfect condition, you will need a shoe with better traction. You will also need to clean that shoe more often, which is something we will teach you how to do.

Simply pronouncing a particular shoe to be “best for pickleball” should be seen for what it is: b***s***.

In order to figure out what is “best” for a particular customer, we must first determine the usage context of the shoe. Indoor or outdoor? Clean or not-so-clean? Acrylic or asphalt? Intermediate/beginner/advanced? 2-3 hours per day or 2-3 hours per week?

The other thing we need to figure out is length, width and foot shape. The Gel-Rocket, for example, is made in a B width for ladies and a D width for men. Therefore it will not fit more than half of all pickleball players over the age of 50.

Most pickleball players need what we call a “French fit.” This is a shoe with a heel-to-forefoot ratio that is slightly narrower in the heel and slightly wider in the forefoot. Most importantly, though, more than half of all pickleball players over 50 will experience foot pain if they choose a shoe with a tapered toe box.

Finally, we have to consider the length of the shoe. Only a small percentage of players have “factory feet.” In fact, most people have one foot that is slightly longer and one foot that is slightly wider. Added to that typical problem is the problem of size variance. From one shoe brand to another, there can be as much as 1.5 centimeters of variance between shoes of the same size.

Can a shoe really be considered “best for pickleball” if it doesn’t fit properly? No it can’t. The best shoe for pickleball is a shoe that A) fits and B) is suited to your specific court conditions. And no one shoe, regardless of brand or model, can be used in all conditions by all sizes and shapes of feet.

Want to find out which shoe is best for you? Come into our store for a fitting. While we are fitting you we will ask you questions about where you will be playing, how often you will be playing and how much you want to spend. Once we know your size, shape, and usage context, we will help you pick the best pickleball shoe for you.

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Asics Gel-Rocket is NOT a Great Pickleball Shoe

ASICS GEL-ROCKET 7 B405N 9093

Asics Gel-Rocket
The Asics Gel-Rocket is not a great pickleball shoe
Until recently, Asics ™ had a great reputation in the indoor court shoe category. Unfortunately, as anybody who pays attention to these things can tell you, those days are behind us now.

Asics Canada has pretty much given up on the indoor court shoe business. Two seasons ago, they offered 12 different indoor models in a variety of colours and ten of these were good shoes that were suitable for adult pickleball players.

This season, however, they are offering only four models. Two of these models (Gel-Upcourt and Gel-Rocket) are transition shoes designed for kids, not adults. One of the four is a high priced volleyball shoe that is designed to look like a street shoe (Netburner Ballistic FF) and the other is the Gel-Tactic, which is nothing special.

The Gel-Rocket is undoubtedly their top seller in this category. But this is not because it is a good shoe for pickleball. It is their best seller only because Sport Chek and The Sporting Life are selling it to gullible consumers who don’t know any better.

As in previous years, the newest version of the Gel-Rocket has a loose upper with very weak support and a segmented sole featuring alternating patches of low grade gum and painted rubbers. Neither of these rubber blends offer adequate traction on hardwood floors and neither will stand up to long term use by adult players.

At best, the Gel-Rocket is an imitation court shoe suitable for use by teens who are likely to outgrow the shoe in a few months. It is not and should not be considered an adult pickleball shoe even though it comes in adult sizes.

Babolat Shadow Spirit Men Court Shoes
Babolat makes excellent indoor court shoes with Michelin rubber soles.
At Racquet Network, we have replaced Asics ™ with Babolat ™. While Asics is in rapid decline in the indoor court shoe category, Babolat is clearly in the ascendance.

Over the past five years, they have consistently improved their court shoes to the point where they have now surpassed Asics as the brand preferred by the majority of our pickleball customers.

The other brand that continues to do well in this category is Yonex. In addition to making excellent court shoes generally, Yonex makes two wide models that are excellent for pickleball and the older players who tend to dominate that sport.

Regardless of your size or foot shape, if you are a former Asics customer in need of some quality court shoes, you should come in and see us. Our experts will fit you and make sure you leave with the right size and the right shoe for the surface you are playing on.