The Chairman3's review of the Babolat SFX EVO
Tennis experience/background: 4.0 NTRP, been playing about 6 years, no prior experience
Describe your playing style (i.e. serve & volley): All-court, enjoy coming to net in both singles and doubles, try to utilize every shot situationally
Current shoe:
Clay: Le Coq Sportif LCS T01 and ON Roger Pro
Hard: Vapor 9.5 Tour, previously Ubersonic 2
How many hours did you play with the shoe? I played about 15hrs (going to play at least 20 though and add some updates on durability). I played 70/30 hard and clay court, respectively. The additional time will all be hard court.
Normal Size: 11
Playtesting Size: 11
Comments on shoe performance (3-5 sentences per category):
-
comfort: I would say comfort from the cushioning was average. They weren't super plush, super cushioned but they had a good level of cushioning for me and never left my feet sore. I'd say they are on par with most other shoes, especially at this price, but the foam is probably designed more for longevity (i.e. a little firmer). The outsole rubber also appeared to be designed for durability so was a firmer/harder rubber and didn't provide extra shock absorption. The uppers, however, were very comfortable. They flexed and felt very forgiving on your foot. The comfortable uppers did hurt lockdown a bit, but I will touch on that in the stability section. The tongue as well was nicely padded and in nice contrast to the more minimalist tongues that seem to be the trend in new shoes. You didn't feel any hotspots from any part of the shoe. Overall, it just depends where you need comfort but they are generally comfortable. A custom orthotic/fancy padded socks would definitely up the comfort level for those with sensitive feet.
-
arch support: Arch support is a little low. I will admit, the size being slightly too large could be putting the arch support in the wrong spot. But you can put your hand in or just look in the shoe and see the footbed is relatively flat in the arch area. I have pretty average arches, so it never felt like I needed more but high arched people would probably need to throw some arch supports in there. This would probably be a positive if you have wide, flat feet.
-
stability/support: In terms of stability, the outsole was very stable. It has a nice footbed and them being a little wider definitely helps with that. The profile is fairly slim, though, and I never tripped on my own feet or caught the edge of the shoe or anything that could cause ankle-rolling when shuffling or quickly changing direction. For the upper, lockdown was a little below average. The only caveat is the shoes are a half-size bigger than I need, so I did have extra room. I could sense this extra space in some very quick movements. Regardless, it's more the design of the upper. It is a mesh/woven/fabric but it is pretty soft and flexible. It doesn't seem as stiff as the "Matryx" upper used on the Jet Mach. While this is great for comfort, it doesn't contain your foot as much as some stiffer uppers do. For a heavier person (I'm a svelte 160lbs, 5'11) this could be problematic if you are an aggressive mover, it may not hold your foot in place as well, particularly if you play singles. This also likely comes down to cost. These are a more budget priced shoe. So again, outsole stability and support is pretty good. Upper support/lockdown is not as good. This shoe could benefit from outrigger style lacing where the eyelets connect to the midsole to hold the foot in place more. This would be a great improvement for a V.2 and likely not drive the cost up significantly.
-
ventilation: I am bad at rating this category because my feet just get hot, regardless. So I would rate them as average, with one caveat. This all black color did get a little hotter. I'm down in FL (the sunshine state), when that sun hits the black fabric, they heat up from the outside and the inside. If in FL, I'd get a lighter color. There also aren't alot of specific ventilation features such as holes or perforations. Again, for me, they didn't seem noticeably hotter than my normal shoes so I give them an average rating.
-
sole durability: The outsole durability has been very good so far. I commented that the rubber seems a little harder and I think this benefits durability significantly. Not sure if the Michelin branded rubber really does anything extra, but so far I see very little wear on the outsole. These are above average in terms of outsole durability. I am going to keep playing these to about 20hrs and will post some updates about the durability.
-
toe durability: For me, there are two parts to this; toe durability and the drag guard. So toe durability so far is great. I am a toe dragger and there is very minimal signs of wear. You can also look and see the thick rubber that comes up the front to protect the toe. So the shoe gets high marks for this. The shoes also have a little of that "rocker" kind of feel where they don't feel like you're completely flat footed, they help your feet move a bit and this helps transitioning in/out of toe dragging. So I posted a pic of shredding the red threads that are on the drag guard. I somehow developed where I pronate and drag my trailing, left foot, not sure how I did this, so I did expereince some wear on the drag guard. I'm not a hard court slider, I guess I do it for support/stability when slowing down after running and maybe it is because I play alot of clay court tennis, but if you do hardcourt slide, the drag guard is weak. It is a very thin piece of vinyl (?), guessing it's vinyl. So it would probably get shredded pretty easily. I think this likely isn't applicable to the target audience of this shoe but regardless it relates to durability.
-
traction: Traction was pretty good. I did slip yesterday, running forward to get a short ball, but this had more to do with the court; it was a little silty/sandy. But thanks to the stability of the outsole, I was able to slide into the "slip" and maintain my footing. This is a positive for both traction and stability. The rubber gripped well and this is kind of an old school, flatter herringbone-ish pattern. The rubber is harder, as mentioned, but heats up and grips well. I don't think these are designed for sliders but they do have those "air channels," so your mileage may vary. On clay, traction is ok. If you play mostly doubles and don't aggressively move, you'd probably be ok on clay. I had mixed results depending on the court conditions. Just get the clay version and save yourself the trouble.
-
weight: Weight is pretty good; I weighed them at 394g or 13.90oz. This is pretty lightweight compared to alot of shoes these days. Shoes seem to be getting heavier but I don't think it is always for a purpose. These are nice, light feeling pretty fast shoes. The uppers feel very light on your feet and the outsole provides good stability without being a brick. I rate them very good for weight.
General reaction/comments on overall performance:
So the overall experience was very positive. YES, they run big, I would need a 10.5 to more comfortably wear them. Half-size lower than my normal size.
These have nice, long laces, but they are braided so can snag or fray a bit if they come in contact with the ground (mine did).
This is a very good budget priced shoe. I liken them to a base model car, there's enough good parts in them that you could mod them up to a higher performing shoe. Add an arch support, add an orthotic and go to town. However, the weakness lies in the upper, to be a really high performance shoe they would need a stiffer upper to provide more lockdown and support. For alot of rec/weekend warrior types, these are a terrific shoe. Even for more competitive play, these would suit alot of people. I used them in plenty of matches with full confidence. If you are wide/big -footed person these are a really competitive option. Just a good combination of light, fast-feeling and durable for hard court play. The price is great for what you get and they aren't bad looking. I really like the white/blue colorway.
Huge thank you to
@TW Staff this was an excellent playtest and a nice offering from Babolat for those with wider feet or who play tennis on a budget.
