When Roger Federer made his ill-fated comeback on the Qatar Open in March 2021, he stepped on the courtroom carrying a pair of by no means seen tennis sneakers.
The sneakers have been made by On Working, a agency Federer holds an fairness stake in and with whom he has collaborated to supply a number of pairs of way of life trainers.
Tennis was uncharted territory for the Swiss-based firm, which specialised primarily in trainers.
Since then, nevertheless, the shoe has gone on normal sale for patrons and is now accessible in a clay courtroom model.
With Federer now effectively into retirement, the model has signed a number of gamers, together with Iga Swiatek, Ben Shelton and promising junior Joao Fonseca.
Are they any good?
Meet The Roger Professional Tennis Shoe
The Roger Professional is the first-ever On tennis shoe, and initially, it was a one-off mannequin designed solely for Federer’s personal foot form.
The design began with 3D photos of Federer’s foot, and the shoe was created from the bottom up with Roger’s enter alongside On’s Science Lead, Kévin Dellion and the On design workforce.
The result’s a sleek-looking tennis shoe that carries some comparable traits from Federer’s Nike Vapor shoe that served him for over a decade and On’s personal touches, such because the pace board and midfoot cage for stability.
Notably lacking, nevertheless, is On’s synonymous CloudTec soles that function on each shoe they’ve made to this point. That omission is as a result of the only real’s open fashion doesn’t lend itself effectively to lateral motion and sharp pivots.
The Roger Professional Clay Model
After launching the unique Roger Professional commercially, On adopted up with the Roger Professional Clay model. Other than the swap to a full-length herringbone outsole, the shoe is similar to the all-court model.
Herringbone patterns are the defacto sole of selection for clay because it permits the unfastened brick mud to slide by means of the grooves so you’ll be able to execute constant and managed slides with out compromising dropping grip.
The brand new outsole covers extra midfoot than the onerous courtroom sole, and the tread opens on the toe, designed to permit gamers to transition from shifting into the slide.
My Tackle the Roger Professional
The very first thing to notice is that I feel the shoe aesthetics are top-notch, and I actually just like the design parts.
The blue and white work nice; the mesh is well-designed and transitions properly into the less-meshy midfoot and extra stable heel space.
If somebody confirmed me a standalone image of this shoe, I wouldn’t realize it was a tennis shoe; they appear like a normal coaching shoe and, from some angles, even go as an on a regular basis way of life shoe.
So whereas I feel they completely nailed the design angle, will it’s tennis shoe?
Is the Roger Professional Any Good?
Sadly, regardless of its attractiveness, the Roger Professional doesn’t stand as much as the rigours most tennis gamers put their sneakers by means of with all of the sliding and toe dragging concerned.
On clay, this isn’t an enormous deal, however when you play on onerous courts, the sturdiness of this shoe shouldn’t be good. There isn’t a actual toe guard, an absence of rubber, and they don’t have a lot bulk in comparison with finest sellers, just like the Gel Decision 9.
Manufacturers like Asics and Mizuno additionally supply six-month outsole ensures; On can’t supply this, so I can’t embrace them in our information to one of the best tennis sneakers.
Contemplating that the majority gamers’ greatest criticism of Federer’s Nike Vapors was their lack of sturdiness and look much more minimalist, I don’t assume that’s a recipe for leisure tennis.
Whereas that’s not an issue for skilled gamers as they will exchange them each time he needs, given On’s typical excessive price ticket, you’re going to rapidly construct a protracted record of disgruntled prospects who received’t wish to shell out ~$200 each two months to switch them.
What’s the Different?
Ought to they attempt to seize an even bigger share of the leisure tennis shoe market, the choice for On can be to design a bulkier, extra sturdy model of the Roger Professional that’s extra appropriate for leisure and club-level play. Or perhaps a mannequin extra geared in the direction of aspiring professionals on the Futures circuit who will not be fortunate sufficient to have a shoe deal.
What do you guys assume? Would you purchase a pair of Roger Professional tennis sneakers to play in? Or would they be extra of a collector’s piece? Let me know within the feedback.