Breakdown

Comfort: 7.9

It was no surprise to our testers that the Babolat SFX 4s were among the most comfortable and wide-fitting tennis shoes they'd tried. Troy did find the fit quite roomy in terms of width, but he also noted that it felt a bit short in length. He said, "As I would expect from the reputation of the SFX line over the years, these shoes were very comfortable overall. One of my biggest knocks on most of the shoes that I playtest is that there isn't enough underfoot cushioning, especially since I am always playing on hard courts. That definitely wasn't the case with these SFX 4s; there was a nice thick layer of cushioning in the midsole — Babolat calls it 'Extra Cush.' That said, the length felt slightly snug, so I guess the overall fit felt slightly short and definitely wide. I wouldn't change my size, though, because if I did go up a half size, I would have been swimming inside these shoes! The arch support felt a bit low for my taste, so I made sure to use my aftermarket arch supports. I would say the ventilation was pretty good overall. The lightweight mesh on the uppers helped keep my feet feeling cool for the majority of the playtest."

As one of the wider footed testers on the team, Jason found a fairly wide fit for shoes that Babolat calls "regular width," so he didn't experience any discomfort. He said, "These are some wide-fitting 'regular-width' shoes, so I didn't have any issues with the shoe rubbing against my toes. I thought the underfoot cushioning was pretty nice as well. The arch is nice and low, so those with low arches, like me, should enjoy the fit. There is plenty of mesh in the uppers, so ventilation was really good."

Another wider footed tester, Munish thought the SFX 4s performed well in this category. He said, "I found the SFX 4s quite comfortable. The cushioning was great, and I loved the mesh uppers for their ventilation. The slightly wider fit allowed my feet to sit very comfortably on the footbed, but I found that I was sliding forward a lot when moving. This led to a bit of toe jamming, but it was nothing too serious."

The comfort of the SFX 4s really impressed Mark. He said, "I would say one of the main themes of the Babolat SFX 4s was comfort. The midsole cushioning from heel-to-toe was top notch, and the upper felt both supple and very breathable. Length was an accurate size 11 for me, with their width being noticeably wider than most of the D-width court shoes I have been wearing. Although I have a semi-high arch and the stock arch insert was a little low, it never caused any discomfort or worry."

Foot Support / Stability: 6.4

The Babolat SFX 4s come with substantial weight, and paired with the slightly wider fit, these shoes offered our testers a lot of support and stability. Mark said, "To me, the stance of the SFX 4s felt pretty low to the ground, and combined with the fact that they are slightly wider, these shoes delivered better-than-average stability while maintaining a speedy feel. That said, once they were laced up my heels were comfortably locked in, and the SFX 4s worked with my movement and not against it."

Jason thought the wide fit inhibited the support, even after tightening the laces as tightly as he could. He noted, "This is the widest fitting SFX shoe I've tested so far, and because of that, I was having trouble getting a locked-in fit and feel. It is rare for me to cinch up my laces so tightly that the eyelets are nearly touching, but that was the case here. I thought the stability was OK when I was moving sideline to sideline. I'd say it's about the same as the previous version."

The fit of the SFX 4s was pretty wide for Troy, and he often felt like he was moving around inside the shoes during quick changes of direction. He explained, "These shoes had a very soft and flexible feel to them, which was great in terms of the comfort and not needing a break-in. That said, I felt like the stability was a bit lacking. Because the upper material is very soft and these shoes fit pretty wide, I felt like I was moving inside of the shoes when making quick changes of direction, and they were lacking some support and stability. I never experienced an ankle roll or injuries while playing in these SFX 4s, but I think it was just a confidence thing."

Munish was quick to compliment the weight of these SFX 4s. He said, "I liked the support of the SFX 4s. The extra weight added a lot to the stability of the shoes, and I think the extra width assisted it. However, I did need to use the extra eyelets to lock in my heel because I found my heels slipping a tiny bit on aggressive movements."

Overall Sole Durability: 7.2

Babolat has been working with Michelin for years to create some extremely long-lasting outsoles. This partnership is beautifully showcased in the SFX 4s, and all of our playtesters had positive things to say about the durability of these shoes. Mark was also quick to compliment the strategically placed TPU in the high-wear areas. He said, "For a player like myself, who does not move too aggressively, the durability of the Babolat SFX 4 was better than good. If I were writing this review when I was in my 30s, I would probably have said their degree of durability was decent. The strategically located TPU overlays applied to the high-wear areas of the upper do an excellent job of protecting them from court abrasions, and the overall durability of the outsole is actually pretty good."

Troy inflicted little to no wear on his outsoles and uppers after about 20 hours of play on his pair of SFX 4s. He said, "The durability was pretty good for me throughout the month-long playtest. There wasn't much wear to the rubber outsoles after about 20 hours of play on gritty hard courts. The Michelin rubber compound held up pretty tough, and I think that Babolat did a good job of making the outsole thicker in the high-wear regions. I don't usually turn my feet over to the point where I drag or scrape the upper material of my shoes on the court, but with that said, I did notice a good amount of rubber protection at the toe tip and medial side of the toe box."

Munish was thoroughly impressed by his pair of SFX 4s and plans on playing in the shoes even after the playtest to see when he can get some actual wear on the outsole. He described, "I've been testing these SFX 4s for a few weeks now, and I've not seen any signs of smoothing on my outsoles at all. I want to continue playing in them to see at what point I start seeing some smoothing."

"The outsoles held up really well throughout the playtest," Jason added. "It might be because I wasn't moving as aggressively as I normally would because of the fit issue, but nonetheless, I was able to put 15 to 18 hours on these shoes without showing many signs of wear and tear."

Traction: 7.5

Some of our testers thought the traction of these SFX 4s required a break-in because they found the shoes a bit sticky at the beginning of the playtest. Although Troy faced that issue at first, he found a smoother and more balanced ride before long. He explained, "I really liked the outsole grip out there on the hard courts. The Michelin rubber had more of a sticky feel to it when I first started testing these shoes out. The rubber wore in nicely after a few hitting sessions and the outsoles felt a little less grippy, but in a good way. I felt confident pushing off or changing directions. I knew the rubber would grip the court well, but it also didn't feel too sticky after that initial break-in period."

"Right from the get-go, the SFX 4s felt very predictable," Munish added. "I don't slide often, but have started doing so as of late, and the SFX 4s allowed me some give to slide whenever needed, but also plant firmly. In fact, I found it quite easy to plant, turn and take off."

Jason didn't feel 100 percent confident moving on court in the SFX 4s, but that may have had more to do with support than traction. He said, "There is a nice combination of grip and give to these shoes that I think will please the majority of tennis players. I didn't attempt to slide too often in them because I didn't feel totally secure in doing so, but when I needed to I could.”

Once Mark broke in the outsoles a little, the SFX 4s provided him a fantastic balance of grip and give. He said, "The traction of the Babolat SFX 4 started out feeling sticky, but after 20 minutes of play, that gave way to nearly perfect traction for the rest of the playtest and well beyond."

Weight: 7.2

The Babolat SFX 4s are definitely among the heaviest shoes our team has tested this year. Despite that, our playtesters didn't find the SFX 4s too cumbersome on court. Munish thought the performance of these shoes fully justified their weight. He said, "I'm one of the few who like the weight of the SFX 4s. These shoes don't really feel too clunky, and I didn't feel like they were holding me back in any way. The SFX 4s are a lot heavier than the pair of SFX 3s I have, but I think the weight was distributed really well. The extra weight made the SFX 4s feel a lot more stable and secure, but somehow Babolat still kept them from feeling like cinder blocks."

Mark could hardly believe that Babolat managed to deliver a ride that feels this premium in such a light feeling court shoe. He noted, "I have to say that I am impressed that Babolat was able to pack that much comfort and support into an agile, high-performance court shoe with a little extra width!"

Despite the substantial weight of the SFX 4s, Jason was moving naturally on court. He described, "These shoes definitely have some heft to them. It didn't bother me too much because I thought the weight was distributed well and didn't make the shoes feel too clunky, despite the looser fit."

Troy thought that the SFX 4s felt lighter than their 15-ounce (size 10.5) weight, likely thanks to their flexible build. He explained, "I found these SFX 4s to feel decently light while I was moving around the court. I know that the weight came in at 15 ounces on the scale (for a size 10.5), but I thought they felt a bit lighter than that. Maybe it had something to do with the soft and flexible feel and the mesh on the uppers."

Breakdown Summary