Racquet sports are all-body sports. The energy you need to make the strokes comes from your feet and travels through your body and into your arm. You also need to be able to move around the court. In fact, in the case of badminton, you need to be able to move very quickly. For all of these reasons (and more), if you play badminton regularly, you’ll want a proper pair of badminton shoes. Here’s a guide to buying them.
What to look for in the best badminton shoes
The best badminton shoes will fit your feet perfectly and will balance lightness with support and offer good breathability. They’ll offer good grip on the court, but won’t mark it. Let’s look at these points in more detail.
Fit
In the world of fashion, people might put up with shoes which don’t fit properly as long as they look good. In the world of badminton, however, it is vital that your badminton shoes are an exact fit for your foot.
Weight
The best badminton shoes will be as light as possible. What this means in practice will depend on your priorities. Basically, the more support and cushioning you want, the more the badminton shoes will weigh.
Breathability
Sweat from your body can evaporate easily. Sweat from your feet can only evaporate if your badminton shoes are designed in a way which makes this possible. Given the sweat you are going to work up playing badminton, good breathability is a must.
Cushioning
Cushioning is what protects your joints as you run around the court and, especially, as you land after jumps. You need as much of it as you can get. At the same time, however, you want badminton shoes with thin soles, so you have a lower centre of gravity. This helps your balance and thus your ability to react quickly. The best badminton shoes square this circle through their use of advanced materials which provide excellent cushioning without thickening the soles of your badminton shoes.
Grip
These days, most people play badminton on courts made of either polyurethane or wood. If this is you, then you want badminton shoes with gum rubber soles. If you’re playing on a court made of concrete, then you want regular rubber.
When it comes to gum soles, the one key point to keep in mind is that they get very dirty very easily and when they get dirty they lose traction. It’s therefore important to keep them for on-court use only and to clean them after each wear.
You also want badminton shoes with soles which have deep grooves, as these provide the best grip. Over time, they will become worn down and that’s when your badminton shoes will need to be replaced.
Support
In general, the best badminton shoes have less ankle support than you might expect. This is because many of the standard motions in badminton actually come from the ankles. It is therefore preferable for the ankle to have a full range of movement. Giving the ankles too much support can actually be counterproductive in that it can stop your ankle muscles from developing the sort of strength they will need for the game.
Best badminton trainers - reviewed
Badminton trainers are still a fairly niche market. That’s a polite way of saying that there’s a relatively limited number of them. If you live in (or can get to) a large city with a specialist shop, you might get a broader selection. For everyone else, we’ve put together a list of trainers which are fairly widely available and which are suitable for badminton, even if they’re not actually marketed as badminton trainers. We’ve chosen our range based on overall value, so basically performance as compared to price.
Men’s badminton shoes reviewed
For the sake of clarity, the only real difference between men’s badminton shoes and women’s badminton shoes is the sizing. Men’s badminton shoes tend to start at about a 6 or a 6.5 and go up from there, so they may be suitable for some women.
Adidas Men's Barricade Club Tennis Shoes
The only real differences between these and proper badminton shoes is that there is a bit more ankle support and the sole is a bit thicker. Overall, however, they’re a very decent swap-out and the breathability is excellent.
adidas Men's Barricade Club Tennis Shoes, Grey (Night Metallic/ftwr White/core Black), 7.5...
- Abrasion-resistant Adituff in the toe and forefoot area prevents annoying stopping during impact, volleys or slides
- All-round TPU film for durability in areas with most abrasion and maximum side stability
- Abrasion-resistant Adituff in the toe and forefoot area prevents annoying stopping during impact, volleys or slides
- All-round TPU film for durability in areas with most abrasion and maximum side stability
ASICS Men's Upcourt 2 Multisport Indoor Shoes
These shoes are exactly what the name suggests. They’re designed to function well across the sorts of sports which are played on indoor courts. For practical purposes this means the likes of volleyball/softball/dodgeball and racquet sports. Even though they’re not badminton-specific, they do cover almost all of the basics of the best badminton shoes. They’re just a bit heavier than usual because they offer a bit more ankle support than proper badminton shoes. They also have a slightly thicker sole than proper badminton shoes.
ASICS Men's Upcourt 2 Multisport Indoor Shoes, Black/White/Dark Grey 9001, 7 UK...
- A mesh shaft that provides excellent breathability and allows your feet to stay comfortable and cool.
- A mesh shaft that provides excellent breathability and allows your feet to stay comfortable and cool.
Yonex Men's Power Cushion 35 Badminton Shoes
Yonex have a range of badminton shoes, but you’ll struggle to find any of their other styles in the mainstream shops. We suspect that the reason the Power Cushion 35s are so widely available is that they’re clearly intended for the “regular recreational player” and are priced accordingly. The quality is perfectly suitable for recreational games and maybe even the occasional lower-level competition.
Yonex Men's Power Cushion 35 Badminton Shoes, Black/Blue,9 UK (43 EU)
- Affordable shoe with reliable traction Cushioning for the feet and joints. Absorbs shock then reverses the impact energy
- Affordable shoe with reliable traction Cushioning for the feet and joints. Absorbs shock then reverses the impact energy
Women’s badminton shoes reviewed
Women’s badminton shoes tend to start at about a 4 and go up from there. Some may go as small as a 3 but for that size (or smaller), you may want to look at junior badminton shoes
Adidas Women's Barricade Club Tennis Shoes
Basically the same comments apply here as for the men’s version.
adidas Women's Barricade Club Tennis Shoes, (FTWR White/Silvermetallic/Core Pink), 8 UK 42...
ASICS Women's Gel-Rocket 8 Volleyball Shoes
Even though the Gel-Rocket 8s are marketed as volleyball shoes, they’re probably used far more for racquet sports. The only differences between these shoes and proper badminton shoes is that they are slightly heavier and have a bit more ankle support. ASICS sizing tends to be a bit on the small side, so you might want to go half a size up, or even a whole size up), but if you buy them from a retailer which is good with returns you can order a few pairs and keep the ones which fit the best.
ASICS Womens Gel-Rocket 8 Volleyball Shoe
- Fits true to size
- Medium width
- Asics Trusstic System Technology
- Forefoot Gel Cushioning System
- Size 6
- Fits true to size
- Medium width
- Asics Trusstic System Technology
- Forefoot Gel Cushioning System
- Size 6
Carlton Womens Airblade Lite Court Shoes Badminton Trainers
These are the only badminton shoes for women you are likely to find in the mainstream retailers. This is probably because they are pitched (and priced) at the recreational market. Having said that, they are actually very decent badminton shoes and superb value for money. Even if you play regularly and are take the game seriously, these badminton shoes could make you very happy.
Carlton Womens Airblade Lite Ladies Court Shoes UK 6.5 White
Best badminton trainers - conclusion
The best badminton trainers are the ones which fit your specific foot and which cover all the basic requirements for badminton. As badminton is still a relatively niche sport, proper badminton shoes can be hard to find (especially for women). Shoes made for volleyball or other racquet sports can be a good substitute. Just remember to look for shoes which are intended for use on an indoor court and which have non-marking soled.
Fitness fanatic and always on the move. Carly is a certified personal trainer and currently teaches spin class, Zumba, and Body Pump amongst a few others. Carly has a PhD/MSc in Sport and Exercise Nutrition so she really knows her stuff and has worked in fitness and health all her life. We are honoured to have her as a member of the team. Carly has an infectious laugh, loves terrible, terrible jokes and her dog Trevor and often works with a local mental health charity
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