Tennis Warehouse Playtest: adidas SoleMatch Bounce Shoe

TW Staff

Administrator
Attention Talk Tennis Members:

We will be playtesting a very limited number of the brand new adidas SoleMatch Bounce shoes for a playtest. This playtest is open to both men and women in the USA only.

IMPORTANT: The requirement for this playtest is that you must post a review in this thread by the deadline (check back).

[Application period is now closed. Applicants will be selected an emailed by July 3rd.]

If you are selected, you must reply to our confirmation email and confirm that you are able to perform this playtest.

We select playtesters based on a number of factors, including past performance on playtests, user history, posting in topics similar to playtest, etc.

If you do not post a review by the deadline or if your review is clearly lacking effort, you will be excluded from future playtests.

*** Your review is due by August 23rd.***

Please use the following to write your review:

Tennis experience/background:
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley):
Current shoe:
How many hours did you play with the shoe?
Normal Size:
Playtesting Size:

Comments on shoe performance:
-comfort:
-arch support:
-stability/support:
-ventilation:
-sole durability:
-toe durability:
-traction:
-weight:

General reaction/comments on overall performance:

As always, we ask that this thread to be used only for questions, discussion and playtest reviews. Extraneous comments will be deleted.

Thanks,
TW Staff
 
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fl4tsc

Rookie
So these look to be a Solecourt Boost, but with the Boost replaced with Bounce materal?
I had a pair of the Defiant Bounce that worked out great for me on clay.

Also, that black and orange colorway looks mean.
 

treyaflash

New User
I have the SoleCourt Boosts currently, but excited to see how these might compare with the Bounce midsole instead. I've always been a fan of the Bounce material as well. I found the SoleCourt boosts to be fairly wide in the toe, wonder if these will be the same way.
 

NastyWinners

Hall of Fame
So these look to be a Solecourt Boost, but with the Boost replaced with Bounce materal?
I had a pair of the Defiant Bounce that worked out great for me on clay.

Also, that black and orange colorway looks mean.

Kind of looks that way. Would be eager to see how they differ since I have the Solecourt boosts and also had the Defiant Bounce. Would hope they are a good mix of both!
 

SteveI

Legend
These look great... for the older player. High rating in comfort!! Hope I get in. My summer clinic begins next week. Lots of court hours coming!
 

TennisHound

Legend
I’m looking for something different for sure. My Nike Vapor X just don’t have the support for hard courts or clay.
 
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dolphinsrus

Rookie
Haven't played in adidas for so long, looking forward to seeing if it's time for a change. Hopefully I get a chance to try them.
 

mhkeuns

Hall of Fame

Chezbeeno

Professional
Just got the email a few minutes ago, can't wait to try these! And it's perfect timing, since I'm definitely starting to notice that the cushioning in my old pair of shoes is on the way out. Looking forward to sharing my thoughts!
 

milk of amnesia

Hall of Fame
Anyone else receive anything?
Yes, the "Congratulations, you've been selected!" e-mail that I received yesterday appears to have been a group e-mail. TW asked us to confirm, which I did, and I just received another group e-mail acknowledging the confirmation. TW gave us until the 5th of July to confirm, but I'm guessing that everyone has confirmed already and unless someone bails from the playtest, I think all selections are made and confirmed.
 

TennisHound

Legend
The first one is arch support, and the comparison to the Nike Vapor X. (However, the adidas is gonna be a completely different shoe, so it may be hard to make that comparison).
 

mhkeuns

Hall of Fame
Any comparisons to the ASICS Gel Resolution or the Wilson Rush Pro V3.0 would be nice. Stability, comfort (*cushioning) and durability (*overall & outsole) are main concerns.
 

DailyG&T

Rookie
I did not get selected to test these but I bought them and finally had a chance to try them out yesterday. These are terrific for those needing a wide toe box. These are very cushiony-feeling and needed zero breaking in. I brought my previous shoes to the court with me just in case but I was able to play the entire match in my new shoes and feel fine today. My ankles felt very stable and my feet felt "protected" in these shoes. I have been playing in Asics and these felt a little bit heavier but not by a ton. (These are definitely not a lightweight shoe though.) My one ??? about them is a weird one -- my feet looked GIGANTIC in these. I am a petite woman and wear size 6.5 usually so ordered up a half size as I generally do for tennis (actually I usually order a full size up but with Adidas decided to only order up 1/2 size and it's perfect.) Anyway, nice shoe and I think someone looking for a lot of cushion will like them.
 

rovision

Rookie
Agree with DailyG&T. These are very cushioned shoes. For myself, they are at the point where I wonder if they are not too cushioned even, compared to my '18 Baricades Boost.
One issue that started to bother me after some 20 hours of play is that on my left foot, the point where the second lace loop goes, started to press on top of my foot and causing some discomfort while playing.
Even loosening the lace at that point doesn't seem to help and the pain is lingering for days after play. Definitely something specific to my foot, since the right one feels just fine. And probably putting more pressure on my left foot while serving and playing in general.
 

Chezbeeno

Professional
Still waiting for the email to say that these have shipped, but I'm very excited for a really well-cushioned shoe - since I stopped training for my last college season my body isn't nearly as resilient. I'm hoping the extra cushioning helps with some knee and hip problems. I'm also very interested to see which color-way TW sends out for the playtest. Will post pics whenever they get here!
 
Still waiting for the email to say that these have shipped, but I'm very excited for a really well-cushioned shoe - since I stopped training for my last college season my body isn't nearly as resilient. I'm hoping the extra cushioning helps with some knee and hip problems. I'm also very interested to see which color-way TW sends out for the playtest. Will post pics whenever they get here!
Same here, I have not recieved the email that says they have shipped, but did get selected. Can't wait to break them in!!
 
Just got mine in today in the black orange colorway. Initial impression of walking around a mall with them is that they are lighter and more flexible than the average tennis shoe. Complete opposite of the Asics Gel Res 7. Will be posting my full review in the coming weeks
 
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Chezbeeno

Professional
Just got mine in today in the black orange colorway. Initial impression of walking around a mall woth them is that they are lighter and more flexible than the average tennis shoe. Complete opposite of the Asics Gel Res 7. Will be posting my full review ij the coming weeks
Still waiting on mine, but light and flexible sounds promising! First impressions of the cushioning?
 

Faris

Professional
Hi @TW Staff sorry to be a bother but any chance you can inbox me the tracking for the playtest pair sent to me? I unfortunately don't have UPS set up with email etc so I have no way of tracking shoes and haven't gotten any notification as well from UPS. Thank you so much!
 

Chezbeeno

Professional
Finally got home from work and grabbed these from the mailbox, I just had a few minutes to try them on and walk around the apartment, but my first impressions are as follows:
The black and orange isn't as loud as I anticipated - I'm not a huge fan of orange on shoes and apparel, but I don't mind these at all, the black mesh does a great job of masking the orange.
For some reason I expected these to feel pretty stiff out of the box, but they're some of the more flexible and comfy out-of-the-box shoes that I've ever tried - more comparable to the Vapors or something, rather than the Cages or Barricades.
The forefoot area feels super low to the ground, which is awesome, though I'm curious to see how the balls of my feet feel after a little while of playing.
Fit seems true to size, a tiny bit narrow, but they're fine for my feet, and I have a relatively wide forefoot. Because of how low profile the shoes are, despite being true to size, I think I'll need to wear them for a bit and loosen them up a smidge before I can comfortably wear my orthotics in them (my orthotics are fairly thick plastic ones that I fit under the insole of a given shoe).
All in all I'm super excited to get these out on the court and see how the feel! Thanks again TW for the opportunity, and if anyone has any questions then don't hesitate to ask!
 

Faris

Professional
Got my pair in this afternoon. Very excited. Overall great aesthetic.

Slight concern. I do see a lot of glue residue popping out where the rubber treads meet the uppers in the front on both shoes. I order a lot of shoes and have never had a shoe arrive like this. There are also some glue spots near the edges of the sides and close to where the mesh meets rubber in front. I do hope that isn't indicative of shoe quality and they don't start falling apart.

From looks perspective the shoe looks good overall with predominantly black and the orange peeking through. Will go great with any kit really.

I shall wear them this evening and see about the fit and comfort etc. Thanks again @TW Staff for this awesome opportunity!
 

AndI

Rookie
I had an invitation to Adidas employee store which was expiring today. Last week, they pulled all mens tennis shoes off the shelves in preparation for bringing in the new model year. I was lucky that they just put new models of mens tennis shoes on display. They do not have a wide selection of models and colors at the store, only about 4 to 5 options. A couple of lines of feedback: I found that SoleMatch bounce was the best fit for my feet (primarily in how tightly they hold he heel). This model year shoes feel softer and bouncier than what they had in spring. My street shoe size is between 12 and 13 (US), typically 12.5 is the best fit when it is available (if not, I usually struggle between 12 which is too tight and 12 which is too loose), but with this model year, 12 was just right. This is why I would say that this model year Adidas tennis shoes are sized perhaps even "slightly larger than the nominal size". Bought them but did not have a chance to test them yet, other than in the store. I would love brighter colors than light grey top with black sole, but this is the only color that they had in stock for this model. I also tried bright red Solecourts, shock absorption and stability were about the same as with SoleMatch Bounce, I liked the color of Solecourt better, but my heel felt a little loose in Solecourt.

Made in China, of course.

Another good news - they again have light training coats in bright colors, bright orange and yellow. Last time they had such nice, visible colors, great for running, was like 5 years ago.

My previous experience with Adidas was that their items were typically hit or miss. I bought from them two pairs of running shoes in the past which were a disaster as they fell apart way to soon. Zippers on my son's traning clothes were breaking way too soon, too, to the point that my wife asked me to never buy Adidas again. Even with the employee store discount, their pricing felt too high for that kind of quality. However, they dialed in running shoes in the last 2-3 years which are now very, very nice and robust, and they started using some of the technologies which they used for running shoes in their tennis shoes, to achieve a nice combination of bounciness and stiffness. Their new Terrex brand name is also quite nice. Looks like they are improving.
 
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Chezbeeno

Professional
I managed to hit the courts with mine for a little bit today, and it was a bit of a mixed bag, but largely I really enjoyed the experience. I forgot to mention in my initial impressions that the lacing system is a bit odd and stiff, but it's already loosening up, so it isn't a big deal at all.
As with most new shoes, the traction is a bit unpleasantly sticky out of the box, but I know that'll also go away, so again, not a big deal. My only concern at this point is that the forefoot cushioning seems pretty minimal and firm. I'm hoping the cushioning softens up after a bit so that this won't be a problem, because at this point it's my only problem with the shoe. The heel cushioning feels great, and my (chronically problematic) hips and knees feel great so far. Even without a break-in period the shoes flex well and the interiors aren't at all harsh. The last pair of Adidas shoes that I used were the Barricade 5 re-issues, and I found that they were super harsh for my feet. I have no such problem with these.
Weight-wise these are also awesome, they easily feel on-par with the Vapor 9.5's (I haven't tried the Vapor X's), but with more substantial heel cushioning (more comparable to the Cage 2's I still have).
It's way too early to say anything about durability, but after an hour of light movement on-court the shoes don't have any sign of wear, and I'm always really hard on the toe area of shoes.
I have a heavy work week, so it might be a bit before I have the chance to hit any more, but I'll post updates as much as I can. Again, questions are always welcome.
 

Matthew Lee

Professional
Haven’t received mine yet...a bit odd considering all of my other packages come within 1-2 business days as I live near LA. Hopeful for it to come today
 

swfh

Semi-Pro
Played the last 2 days with these shoes. I think that the lacing is a bit stiff as mentioned above, but otherwise the shoes are great. There is great cushioning, and I feel very secure in them. I got the same size as I do my asics (11), and with 2 socks i feel that these are every so slightly bigger, but not enough to make a difference.

Also, I do not like the orange. Any other color would be great, but the orange reminds me too much of halloween.
 

Faris

Professional
I have about a five days worth of solid wear on mine now. They were stiff out of the box but are becoming much better now. I switched to sole court boost earlier this year and compared to those, these shoes are stiffer and lack cushioning all around. Feedback is very different as well. The fit is similar (rooomy toebox and middle of the foot area).

I should have my final review by end of this week or early next week. By that time I would have enough hours on the shoe to give a detailed review.
 

Faris

Professional
Haven’t received mine yet...a bit odd considering all of my other packages come within 1-2 business days as I live near LA. Hopeful for it to come today
That is indeed odd. I hope you have your pair by now. You should have gotten them the earliest in fact. Were you able to check with TW what happened?
 

rovision

Rookie
I have about a five days worth of solid wear on mine now. They were stiff out of the box but are becoming much better now. I switched to sole court boost earlier this year and compared to those, these shoes are stiffer and lack cushioning all around. Feedback is very different as well. The fit is similar (rooomy toebox and middle of the foot area).

I should have my final review by end of this week or early next week. By that time I would have enough hours on the shoe to give a detailed review.

The more I read these reviews, the more I feel that each user has personal perceptions of the same issues.
Overall stiffness, cushioning, lacing, weight, etc. are all very personal impressions and I don't understand the scope of a test like this. There're no standards for these parameters and as such, this whole thread is just an exchange of personal opinions according to individual experiences.
If these shoes are too stiff, compared to the Boost version, for myself they seem almost too cushy, compared to my '18 Boost Barricades. Luckily I didn't throw them away yet, sole still has come rubber left, and I use them alternating with these new Solematch. Just because after playing more then 1h in the Solematch, my left upper foot develops a painful pressure point. So I play one day, 2-3h in the Solematch, and next day in my '18 Barricades Boost to alleviate the pain.
I blame this on the new lacing which applies different pressure points on the foot, lack of cushioning of the tongue, and the tendency for the foot to slide forward inside the shoe.
Stiff out-of-the-box, not an issue for myself! Comparable to the '18 Barricades Boost, and actually softer than previous years Barricades, which I used to compare to my ski boots in terms of stiffness especially around the ankle area.
Yes, toebox seems to be too wide, even for my feet which are considered 'wide', but not to the level where I feel the forefoot floating all around or sliding side-to-side. Same goes for the '18 Barricades Boost.
I have now more then 30h of playtime with these, and I'd say, except the left foot issue I have, they are OK. Not the best, not the worst replacement for the Barricades of last year, or older.
 

Faris

Professional
The more I read these reviews, the more I feel that each user has personal perceptions of the same issues.
Overall stiffness, cushioning, lacing, weight, etc. are all very personal impressions and I don't understand the scope of a test like this. There're no standards for these parameters and as such, this whole thread is just an exchange of personal opinions according to individual experiences.
If these shoes are too stiff, compared to the Boost version, for myself they seem almost too cushy, compared to my '18 Boost Barricades. Luckily I didn't throw them away yet, sole still has come rubber left, and I use them alternating with these new Solematch. Just because after playing more then 1h in the Solematch, my left upper foot develops a painful pressure point. So I play one day, 2-3h in the Solematch, and next day in my '18 Barricades Boost to alleviate the pain.
I blame this on the new lacing which applies different pressure points on the foot, lack of cushioning of the tongue, and the tendency for the foot to slide forward inside the shoe.
Stiff out-of-the-box, not an issue for myself! Comparable to the '18 Barricades Boost, and actually softer than previous years Barricades, which I used to compare to my ski boots in terms of stiffness especially around the ankle area.
Yes, toebox seems to be too wide, even for my feet which are considered 'wide', but not to the level where I feel the forefoot floating all around or sliding side-to-side. Same goes for the '18 Barricades Boost.
I have now more then 30h of playtime with these, and I'd say, except the left foot issue I have, they are OK. Not the best, not the worst replacement for the Barricades of last year, or older.
I agree that everyone has different feedback and I think that is the purpose of this playtest. Not everyone will feel the same way about cushioning, fit, comfort and other aspects of a shoe. A lot of it goes to previous experiences of individuals with varied shoes, their foot shapes, age and playing level etc too. And I think that is a good insight for a shoe manufacturer to have.

For example, I loved the 2018 Boost Barricade and I can tell you I feel they were much better cushioned than these any day of the week and felt softer right out of the box. They did not require any breaking in for me and their fit was far better too. These Solematch Bounce are wider and roomier in forefoot and mid toe and in same size, my feet float all over in these. They aren't overly stiff but conpared to 2018 Barricades, I would give the Barricades a nod. In that regard, I also feel these are very similar to Solecourt Boosts (fit and design wise) and I think have nothing in common with 2018 Barricade line. Same size Solecourt Boost and my feet are okay, Barricade 2018 and all of a sudden the fit and feel becomes completely different.

I am also a little indifferent to these so far. I don't think they are a step up from Barricades, honestly. They haven't wowed me and I would take a good look at other offerings in the market as well before deciding to pull the trigger on these.
 

Matthew Lee

Professional
That is indeed odd. I hope you have your pair by now. You should have gotten them the earliest in fact. Were you able to check with TW what happened?
Thanks for the concern. The Discuss Admin sent me an email telling me that delivery attempts were made but it didn't work out for some reason. I'm going to pick it up at an access point later in the day. Maybe it was worth all of the wait :)
 

TW Staff

Administrator
Attention playtesters:

Updating the review deadline to August 23rd to allow the playtesters more time to play in the shoes (due to the shipping delay).

Thanks,
TW Staff
 

rovision

Rookie
I agree that everyone has different feedback and I think that is the purpose of this playtest. Not everyone will feel the same way about cushioning, fit, comfort and other aspects of a shoe. A lot of it goes to previous experiences of individuals with varied shoes, their foot shapes, age and playing level etc too. And I think that is a good insight for a shoe manufacturer to have.

For example, I loved the 2018 Boost Barricade and I can tell you I feel they were much better cushioned than these any day of the week and felt softer right out of the box. They did not require any breaking in for me and their fit was far better too. These Solematch Bounce are wider and roomier in forefoot and mid toe and in same size, my feet float all over in these. They aren't overly stiff but conpared to 2018 Barricades, I would give the Barricades a nod. In that regard, I also feel these are very similar to Solecourt Boosts (fit and design wise) and I think have nothing in common with 2018 Barricade line. Same size Solecourt Boost and my feet are okay, Barricade 2018 and all of a sudden the fit and feel becomes completely different.

I am also a little indifferent to these so far. I don't think they are a step up from Barricades, honestly. They haven't wowed me and I would take a good look at other offerings in the market as well before deciding to pull the trigger on these.

Yeah I agree, there are so many variables possible that a simple 'test' play to collect reviews makes little sense to me! A more structured survey would make this at least easier to read. I'm not even sure why TW does these "tests" except for creating some minor buzz about the latest products!? Anyway, happy tennising!
 

sanister

Professional
Are these the ones that are orange and black or am I confusing these with some other pairs? Sorry the new Adidas offerings have thrown me off, I am an old Barricade wearer.
 
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