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Can You Wear Tennis Shoes For Badminton?

Can you wear tennis shoes for badminton?

There’s a lot of similarities between the 2 racket sports Badminton and tennis. While there’s different rackets and balls, tennis players usually likes to play Badminton and vice versa.

However, when it comes to tennis players who play Badminton a couple of hours a week, does it hurt to use your tennis shoes or is it worth investing in a pair of Badminton shoes? That’s what I will go through in this post.

Can you wear tennis shoes for Badminton? Tennis shoes is okay to wear when playing Badminton, however, it’s far from ideal. The sole and overall grip is different, and using a pair of tennis shoes on the Badminton court will not only make you a worse player, but it makes you more vulnerable for injuries.

Differences Between Tennis and Badminton Shoes

Firstly, badminton shoes are so much lighter.

In badminton you play a lot more overhead shots than tennis during rallies, so you need something which isn’t too heavy so you feel light on your feet.

Also, the padding is a lot thicker around the heel of my tennis shoes compared to my badminton ones.

This is because in badminton you shuffle and lunge a lot more, where as tennis involves more running, mainly side to side and only sometimes forwards and backwards.

The thicker padding around the heel of the tennis shoe helps to protect and cushion the joints during impact with the ground, like running shoes.

The grip and the grip patterns are also different which also reflects the different movements in each sport.

Tennis can be played on many different surfaces i.e clay, grass, carpet or hard courts, so tennis shoe grips will be different depending on which surface you’re playing on.

For example, a clay court tennis shoes has a zig-zag grip pattern as you’ll slide a lot more. A grass court tennis shoe has a pattern which features more pimples on the sole of the shoe.

With badminton, there’s not much variety in what surface your play on. Most shoes have a radial pattern which provides good grip in all directions.

NB – Badminton is often played on wooden surfaces and many tennis shoes aren’t made out of non-marking rubber, so you’ll face the wrath of the sports club if you decide to wear tennis shoes that leaves a mark on the badminton court!

Final Verdict

Can you wear tennis shoes for Badminton?

Yes, you technically can (with some tennis shoes)

Would I recommend it?

No, absolutely not.

Do the right thing and invest in some good badminton shoes. Your body will thank you for it.