Bethanie Mattek-Sands took off her go-to Adidas Ubersonic 3 tennis shoes, which have been her favorites for a long time because of comfort, performance and the fact that they match all her colorful Lucky in Love outfits, to playtest five footwear models by Adidas, Nike, New Balance, K-Swiss and Asics.
- Adidas Stycon, the first laceless tennis shoe.
Bethanie was surprised that these sock-like shoes come with a shoehorn, but when she started putting them on, she realized that she needed some practice and that a shoehorn may be necessary. “Once they’re on, they’re actually pretty comfortable,” was Bethanie’s first reaction. After wearing them a bit more, Bethanie concluded: “One of the most snug shoes I’ve put my foot in.”
Conclusion: super comfortable, low to the ground, quiet, feel like a mold to her feet, the top part may be rubbing against your ankle a little bit.
Bethanie generally finds Nike shoes to be too narrow in the toebox, but this model is a lot better, gives her toes enough room. However, she feels like she’s wearing heels and finds them to be slippery.
Conclusion: uncomfortable heel area, slippery, wide enough toebox.
Bethanie was impressed with the comfort level, as the shoes almost feel like you’re wearing nothing and you can really feel the court.
Conclusion: nice and snug, low to the ground, immediate comfort (as if she’s worn them for weeks).
Bethanie is familiar with Asics and this model feels similar to what she’s used to. A nice perk is that you can tuck the laces in. What Asics shoes are best at is durability.
Conclusion: easy to put on, no break-in, super comfortable, feel great right from the beginning, make a bit more noise.
Bethanie’s first impression about K-Swiss was that it is the lightest shoe, comfortable from the get-go, although a bit difficult to put on. She would need to test them out a bit more to make a conclusion about their stability.
Conclusion: lightweight, quiet and flexible, no break-in.
After all the tests, Bethanie still gives the No.1 position to her Adidas Ubersonic shoes which she’s used to. Her No.2 is the Adidas Stycon, No.3 is Asics Gel Resolution 8, No.4 New Balance/K-Swiss, No.5 Nike Vapor Cage 4. When it comes to looks, Nike takes the top spot.
I agree, Adidas probably has the most durability and comfort (I used to use the Barricade 8+ and Ubersonic).
The only downfall of Adidas was when you have to break the shoes during the first few days of wearing it, it did hurt my ankle in the beginning. But less than a week I feel like wearing the most comfortable shoes ever.