Babolat Team All Court

The 2005 French Open final was an all Babolat affair with both the Champ, Rafeal Nadal, and runner-up Mariano Puerta swinging the Babolat AeroPro Drive. While both players used their racquets effectively during the final, we also had a keen interest in the footwork of Puerta. Unless you happened to catch a glimpse of Puerta's feet between points or during a change of ends, you most likely didn't get a good look at his shoes - such was the speed of footwork displayed by both players.

If you did happen to catch a glimpse of Puerta's feet, then you might recognize the shoe pictured here - the Babolat Team All Court. The Team All Court marks Babolat's entry into the US shoe market. Already established as a shoe brand in Europe, this shoe is in fact the second version of the Team All Court, and is appropriately called the Team All Court II outside of the US market.

Introduced as a performance shoe for the serious player, the Team All Court features an internal 360-degree support strap attached to the lace system, a wrap-around tongue system, a low to the ground feel and a durable, Michelin developed outsole.

To see how the Michelin outsoles and other performance attributes of the Team All Court shoes would hold up in the real world, we took them for a three-week test drive.

Comfort

For a comfortable fit and ride, the Team All Courts feature a combination of leather and synthetic upper materials on a molded EVA cushioning system. Out on the courts our team found the Team All Courts to offer a good level of comfort. After a brief break-in period Brad was enjoying the fit and feel of the Team All Courts. "When I first put these shoes on, they felt a bit awkward. The arch felt a bit high for my flat feet and the tongue felt weird since it's not like your traditional tongue. However, after breaking the shoes in a bit, they started to feel a lot more comfortable to me. I didn't find anything too special with cushioning, it was adequate and got the job done, but it wasn't the focal point of the shoe." Enjoying the fit and feel of the Team All Courts was Drew. "The Team All Courts offered great on court comfort. I found a very supportive fit without any tight spots or pinching from the uppers. I always felt comfortable and confident when playing in these shoes and I liked the wrap-around tongue design. Like the other playtesters, I went up a half-size in the Team All Courts. The Team All Courts in a half-size larger offered a perfect fit."

Danny was our one playtester who was left looking for a little more comfort from the Team All Courts. "I thought the cushioning could have been better. There wasn't that much cushioning in the forefoot region. I think the design of the shoes was a cause of some discomfort around my ankles. They have a unique design that wraps around the foot through the tongue and ankle. I play in no-show socks and the design irritated my heels and the sides of my feet." Finding a more comfortable fit was Chris. "I found the Team All Courts to be comfortable shoes. While they are obviously built with performance in mind, they offer a comfortable feel to the uppers and decent cushioning. To get a proper fit in these shoes I had to bump up a half-size. I had no break-in issues with the Team All Courts and was able to play in them right away." Mark offered, "the Team All Courts were very comfortable shoes. When I laced them up tight the strap that runs under the arch support felt funny at first, but I didn't notice it after a few minutes. The toe box felt a little large for my foot, but I was able to tighten the laces enough to hold my feet securely and comfortably. I had to move up a half size to 10.5, which may be why the toe box seemed large."

Arch Support

The Team All Courts offer a medium height arch support that is somewhat customizable in fit. Due to a support strap running around the foot through the midfoot area, the arch support can be cinched in by tightening the laces connected to the strap.

Enjoying the fit and support of the arch and midfoot area was Chris. "A perfect fit for my medium height arches. My feet felt very locked in through the arch and midfoot area. I really liked the extra support offered by the strap that runs under the arch area." Preferring to keep the support strap looser for a lower arch support was Drew. "I had no problems with the arch support. I never pulled the stability strap too tight, as I'm very conscious of shoes that hit too high in the arch area due to a previous injury. The lace system offered good adjustability and I was able to find a good fit through the arch area by keep the laces attached to the support strap slightly looser than the rest of the lace system." Also finding the support strap to have a noticeable impact on the amount of arch support was Mark. "The straps under the arches made the arch support more noticeable when I tightened up the laces. I'd prefer a more consistent feel from the arch support."

While Danny found the arch support to be just right, Brad found the fit to be a little high for his low arches. "Even though I found the foot bed to be fairly wide, the arch was a bit high for my liking. After breaking the shoes in they seemed to flatten out a bit, but I prefer a shoe with a lower arch."

Foot Support/Stability

With a low to the ground feel and a 360-degree support strap through the midfoot, our team found the Team All Courts to excel when it came to support and stability. Drew said, "the Team All Courts felt very secure. They provided a solid platform for aggressive movement. My feet felt low to the ground and I never had any slipping or the feeling that I might roll an ankle. The lace system locked my feet in well. It reminded me of the K-Swiss Vittoria with its cinch lace system. I was able to customize the tightness of the fit in the Team All Courts by cinching up the laces in the areas I wanted more support. Once I had the laces set, I never had to worry about adjusting them. While some shoes I've worn would require some lace adjustment during a match, I never had any problems with the Team All Courts." Mark also liked the adjustability of the lace system. "The toe box was large, but I was able to adjust the tightness of the laces to fit the circumstances. When I was playing in the Team All Courts I would make sure the lower section of laces were nice and snug before tightening the upper section. This gave me maximum support without sacrificing comfort. The pressure on the top of my feet was very consistent, without any pressure spots or rubbing. When I wasn't playing, I would loosen the laces and enjoy the extra room."

Chris was very please with the supportive fit of the Team All Courts. "Excellent support. The shoes felt very stable and I was able to really lock my feet into these shoes. I loved the way the lace system and inside support strap worked to lock down the entire upper. The cushioning in the forefoot is very low profile, which further increased the stable feel of the shoes." Brad was in agreement. "I thought this is where the shoe really shined for me. The 360-strap and the wrap style tongue on this shoe seemed to help it hold my foot very snugly. At not time did I feel that the shoe was going to roll or that my foot was insecure or moving around in the shoe."

Also impressed with the support he found on court with the Team All Courts was Danny. "I thought the foot support and stability was good. I thought the lacing system was the reason that my feet were so well supported within the shoes. The lacing system kept my foot stable and in place."

Overall Sole Durability

Michelin and Babolat engineers specially formulated the Michelin rubber outsole compound on the Team All Courts for tennis specific requirements. The research seems to have paid off as the Team All Courts proved to be very durable. Finding some excellent durability was Brad. "After playing in these shoes I hardly notice any wear on the outsoles. The Michelin made rubber soles are holding up extremely well and the tread looks the same as when I first started to wear them."

While Danny and Chris did not feel they put enough hours on the Team All Courts to comment on durability, Mark said, "the Team All Courts have a lot of rubber under the balls of the feet, which is where I wear out my shoes first. My shoes show a little wear in that area, but there's still a long, long way to go before I wear them out." Drew offered, "I definitely put some miles on these shoes during the test, but I didn't find any significant wear to the outsoles. I would expect to see quite a bit of wear from other performance shoes after so much use, but the Team All Courts are still going strong."

Toe Durability

The Team All Courts feature a beefed up toe area to protect the uppers from contact with the court. Our team also found good toe durability during the playtest. Drew was impressed with the toe bumpers on the Team All Courts. "There's plenty of rubber to protect the toes. Again, I saw some wear, but I'm a long way off from any durability issues." Chris said, "there's a decent amount of toe protection and I never dragged higher than the bumper. Consequently, both shoes held up very well. There were some scuffmarks on both toe tips, but no major wear to the bumpers.

Brad also found the toe bumpers to be durable. "I saw little to no wear on the toes of these shoes. The toe area is pretty thick and the tread that runs through it is pretty deep." Mark rarely finds significant wear to the toes of his tennis shoes and the Team All Courts were no different. "The toes were still in good shape after a lot of hours on the court, but I rarely do any damage to the toes of any tennis shoes I wear."

Traction

The level of traction provided by the Michelin outsoles impressed our team. Pleased with his on court movement in the Team All Courts was Mark. "I had great traction with these shoes, whether I was starting, stopping or changing directions. They have good flex, which made it easy to keep a lot of rubber on the court. I was very happy with the way I moved in them." Also happy with the level of grip was Chris. "I found some impressive traction on the hard courts. Combined with the stable and supportive fit, I felt very confident making aggressive cuts. I often rely on my foot speed to keep me in points and a shoe that offers good traction and support is essential. The Team All Courts fit the bill and were a solid choice for match play."

Brad said, "the traction on these shoes was good. I had no problems starting, stopping or changing directions. When running for shots out wide I was able to stop and change directions without worrying about sliding or not being able to stop." Danny was in agreement, "the traction was impressive. I thought the traction was top notch. The shoes did a good job of staying glued to the court. Never once did I slip." Drew concurred, "As well as being durable, the Team All Courts also offer good traction. Again, I felt very comfortable and confident moving around the court."

Weight

At 15.4 ounces for a size 10.5, the Team All Courts are comparable in weight to the current leading performance shoes. Our team found the weight to be well suited to the level of performance offered by the Team All Courts. Drew said, "sure there are lighter shoes, but the weight felt about right and was not an issue. I never felt slowed down by these shoes and the uppers are among the most stable I've experienced, which is impressive for a shoe of this weight." Chris was in agreement. "The Team All Courts felt well balanced and it was easy to just put them on and forget about them. I felt like I was moving as well and as fast as I could when wearing these shoes."

Danny said, "weight, what weight? These shoes had a very light and maneuverable feel." Also impressed was Brad. "I found these shoes to be impressive in terms of their weight. I didn't notice them weighing me done at all while playing. I was really impressed by the weight of the shoe considering how durable they were." Mark also found the weight of the Team All Courts fitting with their performance. "I liked the weight of these shoes. They were heavy enough to offer good stability, but light enough to offer good maneuverability. It seems like they used just enough material to get the job done."

Overall

Babolat Team All Court Summary Sheet
The Up Side	The Down Side	Play Test Scores
Supportive fit for various foot widths Durability Traction Stability	Fit a half-size small	Comfort 3.6 Arch Support 3.4 Foot Support/Stability 4.0 Overall Sole Durability 4.2 Toe Durability 4.0 Traction 4.5 Weight 4.4 Overall 4.0 Scores (1-Horrible 2-Poor 3-Average 4-Good 5-Tremendous)

Playtesters' Foot Types: Chris - narrow width/medium arch, Mark - medium width/medium arch, Granville - narrow width/low arch, Brad - wide width/low-flat arch, Drew - medium width/medium arch.

Review date: July, 2005. If you found this review interesting or have further questions or comments please contact us.

All content copyright 2005 Tennis Warehouse.