Breakdown

Comfort: 8.8

After putting the Jet Tere 2s through their paces on court, our team reported easy step-in comfort and high levels of cushioning. For Chris, the shoes just felt great on his feet. He said, "The Jet Tere 2s required no break-in for me. The uppers were very, very flexible for a tennis shoe and gave zero comfort issues in terms of poking or pinching. I also liked the level of underfoot cushioning. The level of ventilation was impressive, and my feet stayed cool whether I was hitting or working out in the gym."

Jason found comfort eventually, despite some initial fit concerns. He explained, "Even though the fit was just a tad too narrow for me, I thought these shoes were pretty comfortable overall. Luckily, the arch is slightly lower, so it was a good fit for my flat feet. The uppers are quite flexible, and the underfoot cushioning is pretty plush."

Troy was more than impressed by this updated Jet Tere's comfort. He said, "I enjoyed the comfort of the first generation of the Babolat Jet Tere; those shoes were very lightweight, breathable and flexible. The one thing that I wish they had more of was underfoot cushioning, which is often the case with lightweight tennis shoes. They are just too minimal for my liking and lack padding and shock absorption. One of the first things I noticed with this Babolat Jet Tere 2 was that the underfoot cushioning had been improved. The midsole felt a bit thicker and offered more cushioning than before. The upper material had plenty of ventilation, and it also felt soft and flexible. In terms of comfort, the upper material was great and also breathable, but some of the locked-in support that I was looking for was sacrificed because of that flexibility. Lastly, the arch support was sufficient and worked well for my foot type."

Mark also liked how the Jet Tere 2s felt on his feet. He said, "The overall comfort was there with the Babolat Jet Tere 2s, straight from the box to my feet. Midsole cushioning was sufficient for me and better than most other lightweight tennis shoes I have been testing. Upper comfort and breathability were great as well, and I have to say I never gave any thought to the arch support, which means it was fine for my somewhat high instep. Width-wise, the new Jet Tere 2 feels like a medium to me, and unlike the prior model, which ran short, the update is perfect for my size 11 length."

Foot Support / Stability: 5.2

This is the category where the Babolat Jet Tere 2s suffered a bit, perhaps due to the intense movement our testers bring to the court. Across the board, our team found themselves hesitant to use their most aggressive footwork. Chris enjoyed how these shoes felt, but not necessarily how they moved. He said, "Unfortunately, I had issues moving in the Jet Tere 2s due to the lack of support and stability. The uppers were too soft and flexible. On hard lateral stops, my feet would balloon out over the midsoles, leaving me hanging off the side of the shoe instead of being secure over its base. The shoes also twisted too much on lateral cuts. I had a few instances where I thought I was going to roll an ankle, and from then on I took it easy when hitting in them." 

While Troy found comparatively more success, he also couldn't trust the shoes fully. He described, "I really enjoyed the fit and the support that these shoes offered at the beginning of this playtest. They fit me very well, and the uppers were nice and soft, contouring to my feet. After about a week or so of wear that soft upper material stretched out a bit and wasn't as glove-like or as supportive as I would have liked. There were a few times when I made a quick stop, changed directions laterally, and noticed the upper sort of stretching or ballooning over the edge. Although I never rolled an ankle or anything serious like that, I did feel like I had to be a bit more cautious than usual when making quick lateral cuts. There wasn't a high level of stability, but the midfoot shank did help. The shank wasn't built up like a lot of stability shoes, but it kept the shoe from flexing too much or collapsing underneath my arches."

"Like with the original Jet Tere, this is the area I felt was keeping the Jet Tere 2 from being a true performance tennis shoe," Jason added. "The support wasn't really the issue. I felt like I could get a decently locked-in fit. The stability was what I thought was holding the shoe back. When pushing off laterally, I could feel my feet sort of ballon over the shoes. I only needed to experience that sensation one time to know that I couldn't move at 100 percent effort with these shoes on." 

The Jet Tere 2 wasn't giving Mark the level of stability he looks for in a tennis shoe. He explained, "Although the upper of the Jet Tere 2 featured great comfort and a high degree of ventilation, there was some sacrifice in terms of lateral stability. The material was just not holding my feet in place as well as I would prefer on a hard court."

Overall Sole Durability: 7.6

Since our team had issues with the Jet Tere 2's stability, they couldn't fully put the shoe's durability to the test, though what they found did seem promising. Jason picked up on this issue, noting that his time with the shoes was inherently limited. He said, "The Jet Tere 2s seemed to have held up well considering how lightweight they are. However, there is an asterisk to this for me since I couldn't really test out the durability to the extent that I normally do."

Mark found moderate to above-average levels of durability, despite the lighter weight. He said, "I felt that Babolat did a great job at enhancing the lightweight performance of the Jet Tere 2s while maintaining decent abrasion resistance and outsole durability. In addition, the use of TPU over the top of the toe box protects the medial side and toe area, which further improves durability." 

Regrettably, Chris couldn’t test the full extent of the durability of these shoes. He explained, "I limited my hitting in these shoes due to the stability issues, and I did not get to truly test the durability." 

The Jet Tere 2s proved more durable than Troy expected. He said, "For such a lightweight shoe, I found the outsole to hold up decently well. I could tell that the outsole had been beefed up a bit or made a bit thicker, so that helped to extend the life of the rubber. I also noticed that the rubber felt softer or gummier, so even though it was a bit thicker than before, I found it to wear slightly faster than some of the firmer rubber compounds on the market. I think those two things balanced out, and the outsole durability was average or maybe just a bit better than average (when compared to other lightweight shoe options). Toe durability was pretty good, I noticed the added rubber at the tip, as well as the protective material right above the toes on the upper and medial side. I don't drag my toes a whole lot, but there was more than enough protection over the toe region for my needs.” 

Traction: 8.1

The Jet Tere 2s’ traction proved to be quite impressive, with our testers noticing high levels of grip from the get-go. Chris enjoyed how the shoes touched down, noting, "The Jet Tere 2s gripped the court well. I found ample grip to take an explosive first step. The grip worked well with the light and fast feel of the shoes, and I felt like my straight line speed was about as good as it could be."

For Mark, the shoes gripped the court effectively more often than not. He noted, "The traction of the Babolat Jet Tere 2s was really good on every hard court I played on. Specifically, the grip was noticeably sticky at first, and though some of that wore off with play, it sort of remained that way."

Troy was also impressed by the level of traction afforded to him by these shoes. He explained, "As I mentioned in the section above, I felt like the rubber was a bit on the soft or gummy side. So when it came to traction, they grabbed the court very strongly when coming to a stop or change of direction. Sometimes this can be a good thing, especially on slicker hard courts (ones that aren't as gritty on the surface), but in this situation, it was not ideal. The combination of the upper giving too much under pressure and the outsole being sticky caused the support issue to stand out more. When coming to an aggressive stop laterally, the outsole would grab strongly to the court, but the upper allowed my feet to ballon over the sides of the soles."

For Jason, the full extent of the Jet Tere 2's traction couldn't quite be measured, but he still found success with the shoes on the ground. He said, "Initially, I thought the outsoles were a bit too sticky, but I think they wore down nicely after a couple of hours. I didn't ever try to slide in these shoes because of the lack of stability, but I did slide a few times unintentionally when trying to stop and change directions, which tells me that there was some give to them."

Weight: 8.9

The extremely lightweight design is one of the standout aspects of the Jet Tere 2s. However, due to some of the aforementioned stability issues, the lighter weight wasn't enough to make the shoe workable for some of our team members. Troy explained, "For those players who seek ultra-lightweight tennis shoes, it doesn't get much lighter than these Jet Tere 2s. Just barely over 12 ounces for a men's US size 10.5 is about as light as you will find for a performance court shoe. I felt very light and comfortable when wearing these shoes, but I wouldn't have minded a bit more weight. I think having a sturdier upper material and a more substantial midfoot would make these shoes amazing."

The weight was good for Chris, but not enough to offset his concerns with movement. He described, "I found the Jet Tere 2s to be very light and fast. However, I would have happily accepted some extra weight in these shoes if it came with the benefits of added support and stability. As is, the shoes are unplayable for me."

Similarly for Mark, this shoe felt easy to move in. He explained, "Any way you slice it, both on paper and on court, the Babolat Jet Tere 2s are lightweight and speedy. Between the stance and weight of the shoe, the Jet Tere 2 encouraged me to stay on my toes and in a ready-for-every-shot position."

Breakdown Summary