WHY BUY PICKLEBALL SHOES?

• Posted on 21 October 2025
• By Carl Lemelin
• 0

You wonder why it's so important to wear good pickleball shoes? We give it to you straight.

Since the birth of Pickleball Town in 2020, the question we get quite often from customers in our stores is: “What’s the difference between regular court shoes and pickleball shoes?”

Since we are also Volleyball Town, we get that same question about volleyball footwear. For volleyball, the main confusion comes from the comparison with basketball – two court sports played in a gym with similar surfaces.

With pickleball, people could be forgiven for not knowing how the proper footwear differs from tennis shoes.

Sports footwear designers ramped up work on specialized shoes for different sports back in the 30’s, but the importance of sport-specific footwear seems to have entered public consciousness quite recently.

As the middle class evolved and acquired more disposable income, customers became more willing to spend on sports gear that helped athletes perform better in their game of choice. That meant investing in high-end footwear that catered to a specific type of movement and surface type intrinsic to their sport.

For field sports, that meant cleat materials and patterns that worked best for baseball, soccer, or football. For court sports, it means designing shoes that best assist the athlete perform the motions needed to excel in either volleyball, basketball, badminton, tennis, pickleball, etc.

RUNNING SHOES VS COURT SHOES

If you are reading this, you are probably asking yourself: “Why couldn’t I just save money and use my running shoes to play pickleball?”

The honest answer is that you can do that… if performance, injury prevention and your shoes’ durability aren’t priorities.

Running shoes are designed to maximize every part of the running motion: forward momentum, shock absorption, flexibility, and mobility. They are designed to produce speed over long distances.

The soles of runners are equipped with treads that produce a flexible, rocker-like feel from heel to toe, and a high heel drop to naturally assist each stride and promote the forward motion.

The upper is also very flexible to accommodate the natural expansion of the foot as it lands.

As for the midsole, it generally features soft foam to help absorb the force of impact. Thicker and softer foam is placed under the heel, whereas the thinner and denser foam under the forefoot allows for efficient energy transfer when pushing off the ground.

Running shoes are built for comfort and support, not for durability or lateral stability, which are exactly the characteristics court athletes demand from their shoes. Whether you’re playing basketball, volleyball, pickleball or any other gym sport, court shoes are built very differently than running shoes.

Even though each court sport has its own unique dominant biomechanics, there are common traits to all court shoes when compared to running shoes:

• Stiffer material inserts on the sides of the upper for more stability on side-to-side shifts, quick stops and pivots
• Wider and flatter outsoles, again to offer better lateral stability and traction (the multidirectional tread pattern also promotes better lateral traction)
• Thinner and denser foam midsoles (save some volleyball shoes) for a lower-to-the-ground feel and more responsiveness on quick cuts
• Reinforced toe caps for durability, protecting from the abrasion of court play

SO, WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT PICKLEBALL SHOES?

The obvious observation is that the court sports closest to pickleball in nature are tennis and badminton. Tennis is played indoors and outdoors, both on many different types of surfaces. Badminton is a strictly indoor game played in gyms, either on wood or rubber courts.

Obviously, the type of surface the sport is played on will determine the best outsole material and treads the shoe must be built with. Pickleball is played mainly on acrylic/concrete outdoor courts or on wooden gym floors, which means that, like tennis, there needs to be both indoor and outdoor footwear offerings.

Indoor shoes feature a much softer rubber, non-marking outsole with more intricate, suction-type tread patterns to maximize traction on smooth surfaces, while outdoor footwear is constructed with harder outsoles featuring bigger, block-style treads to optimize traction and durability on rougher surfaces.

Like tennis, pickleball demands constant quick changes of direction, but due to the much smaller area to cover, unlike tennis it does not require long runs with a lot of speed.

For the type of movement around the court, pickleball is more akin to badminton. Where it diverges from badminton is in the frequency of movement. Pickleball can produce long, rather static exchanges in the kitchen (near the net), whereas badminton players constantly attempt to make their opponent move all over the court.

What does this all mean when it comes to making a good pickleball shoe?

Since the lateral movements and quick cuts aren’t as violent as in tennis, the shoe’s upper doesn’t need to be as reinforced laterally. That means pickleball uppers can be made of more flexible, lighter and less stiff materials than those of tennis shoes. Pickleball footwear can be focused more on lightness, comfort and agility rather than support and durability. Note that there is extra lateral support, particularly around the heel, to prevent buckling during side-to-side movements.

Conversely, pickleball outsoles will be less flexible from heel to toe, since there is less running involved. The purpose of pickleball outsoles is to create a more stable base for balance during quick rallies in a static athletic position.

That’s why you will find that many of the highest end pickleball shoes have torsion-free outsoles – which is also where pickleball footwear is different from badminton, a game that requires more overall mobility.

As for the midsole, pickleball shoes typically have slightly thicker and softer foam than other court shoes (except for volleyball shoes), since comfort is prioritized over lateral stability.

Tennis and badminton players need to be ready to move quickly in any direction, and usually for longer distances than pickleballers, so they need shoes that are lower to the ground (midsole with thinner foam).

Here is a reference chart that compares pickleball footwear requirements to tennis and badminton.

What’s the Difference Between Regular Court Shoes and Pickleball Shoes?

PICKLEBALL TOWN FOOTWEAR SELECTION

Pickleball Town offers a wide variety of shoes for all levels of players, and to fit a wide range of foot types. We carry 8 leading brands like Asics, Babolat, Head, New Balance, Nike, Skechers, Tyrol, and Under Armour, and dozens of models that each present varying degrees of pickleball-centric features.

Visit our footwear section to find the style that fits your game… and your personality!