ON The Roger Pro Fire Women's Tennis Shoe Review

Breakdown

Comfort: 8.1

No two people's feet are exactly the same, and these ON The Roger Pro Fires received mixed reviews from our testers when it came to their overall comfort. Ventilation got high marks from everyone, but some of the testers had issues with the fit and thought the cushioning in the forefoot could have been plusher. These shoes checked all the boxes for Zsofi in this category. She said, "These new The Roger Pro Fires are my favorite shoes of the year so far, and I honestly couldn't have been any more excited to be on this review! To me, it felt like ON really listened to some of the feedback about previous generations of its tennis shoes and corrected them for this update. I know that some of the other playtesters had some sizing issues, but my regular size fit me perfectly. The shoes are just roomy enough for my medium-width feet -- not too tight, not too wide. There was basically no break-in time needed, but I will say that as the playtest went on, the shoes became a bit more flexible and bendy, which was a nice feature. It won't be a surprise to anyone if I say these are not the most cushioned shoes out there, but in my experience, that didn't take away from the great comfort level. I still thought I had just enough cushioning, and the uppers held me very comfortably."

After a brief break-in period, Tiffani felt comfortable playing in these ON The Roger Pro Fires, although she would have liked more cushioning in the forefoot. She said, "Once again, ON really hit it out of the park with the cosmetic design. It's actually my favorite ON court model to date and not just for its style. The fit is improved over the ON The Roger Pro 2s I wore last year. The toe box is not too narrow for my wide feet and fits like a medium to me. It took about two hours for the uppers to relax enough that my feet didn't feel squeezed. The volume is pretty shallow, which wasn't a problem for my flatter feet, and it contributed to a glove-like feel. The cushioning was more minimal, especially in the forefoot, which led to good court feel but also some sore knees at night if I wore these Pro Fires for too long on hard courts. Other than that, the ventilation was nice, and I had no issues with arch support."

Ana also needed to break in her The Roger Pro Fires for a better fit. She explained, "This was my first time playing in ON shoes, and they did not disappoint. Not only did I get the most compliments while wearing these shoes, but they also excelled in stability, durability and weight. The short fit of the shoes was a bit of an issue for me, though. When I first tried them on I could feel my toes touching the ends of the shoes. I normally try to avoid this, which is why I thought about going up a half size, but I ended up choosing to stick with my regular size. The shoes did open up more after wearing them for a bit, so I didn't have any issues, but I would have preferred just a bit more space. These ON The Roger Pro Fires are low-to-the-ground shoes with very little cushioning, and while I didn’t have any issues playing in them, I wouldn't wear these shoes if I was going to be in them for an extended period of time. I wore them once for coached in them once for a couple of hours, and my feet were tired by the end."

Fit was Brittany's biggest issue during her time playtesting the ON The Roger Pro Fires. She said, "Having had experience with two other ON tennis shoes this year, I was cautiously optimistic for this update. I definitely felt some new underfoot cushioning, which helped with shock absorption when moving around. As far as ventilation, I thought these shoes kept my feet cool even in the warmer summer months. The arch support hit my arches perfectly, and I have no complaints there. However, I still feel like I was not able to get the perfect fit. Although I enjoyed the slightly snug medium width, the length felt a tad longer than the Pro 2s and felt closer to my true size 8, but maybe just slightly shorter than normal. The toe box was very shallow, especially toward the tip, which rubbed the tops of my toes and caused blisters (I will go into more details in the support section). This affected the overall comfort of the shoes."

Foot Support / Stability: 8.9

The combination of Speedboard support underfoot and lacing cages in the midfoot helps make these ON The Roger Pro Fires extremely stable and supportive during aggressive movements on the court. Our playtesters never felt they had to hold back on their natural style of play. Tiffani described, "Like I said in the comfort section, I had a connected-to-the-court feel, which helped boost my confidence in my footwork. I felt low to the ground and supported during all of my movements. The shoes felt stable around my ankles, and I didn't need to use the extra eyelets to get that secure feel. Because these shoes fit my feet tightly (but not uncomfortably so), my feet didn't have any room to slide around."

Zsofi gave the ON The Roger Pro Fires an A+ in the support and stability department. She said, "Support levels were absolutely incredible. These shoes are really built for someone who is more aggressive with their footwork on court but likes to feel speedy and connected to the ground, which is my playing style. There was no movement where I felt off balance or unsupported. I even tested the shoes on some red clay courts in Europe, and they held up nicely."

Even with her sliding game, Ana always felt that she could trust the ON The Roger Pro Fires on court. She said, "Stability and support were amazing with these ON The Roger Pro Fires. Despite the shoes not being very comfortable for me, they were very stable and supportive. I wasn’t afraid to move in them or afraid to slide on the court. I felt the shoes were stable enough to trust and move in aggressively. ON added an extra layer of protection to the insides of the shoes for players like me who slide on the court and keep breaking shoelaces. This protection worked great for me, but it did create some discomfort since it kept hitting my ankles every time I changed directions side to side."

Brittany felt stable in the ON The Roger Pro Fires, but she struggled with the support. She explained, "While I had great levels of stability, I was left looking for a little more in the support area. I liked how my feet sat nice and deep within the Pro Fires. I used the last eyelets to get that locked-in feel, and my ankles felt very protected and stable over the course of the playtest. When it came to the support, as I hinted in the above section, I wasn't able to get locked in within the shoes, specifically when moving forward. I will note that I didn’t have any issues with my side-to-side movement. This forward movement caused my toes to bunch up at the front of the shoes, which led to the rubbing. I tried wearing thicker socks, as well as thinner socks with tape around my toes, but nothing seemed to make that rubbing any better, unfortunately."

Overall Sole Durability: 8.6

These ON The Roger Pro Fires earned high marks for durability. The rubber outsoles and the reinforcements on the uppers did a good job holding up to the competitive play and hard-court sliding of our playtesters. Zsofi was particularly impressed. She said, "Durability was amazing. I easily put more than 40 hours on these shoes, and I don't see any wear on them. I do think these ON The Roger Pro Fires will last a long time!"

"Durability-wise, these ON The Roger Pro Fires exceeded my expectations," Ana added. "I wore them for more than 10 hours while coaching and played a few matches in them, and I could barely see any wear on the soles and uppers. For relatively lightweight shoes, I thought these new ONs held up very well."

Brittany didn't see any wear on the soles or uppers at the end of the playtest. She said, "I thought the durability held up well throughout the playtest and was on par with the ON The Roger Pro 2s. I’m not seeing any wear on the outsoles after 10-plus hours, and they look to have plenty of life left, which is a good thing since the shoes do not come with an outsole durability guarantee. The toe bumpers and uppers are holding up well, with no wear or tear to be seen."

The durability was solid for Tiffani as well. She described, "I've put about a dozen hours of hard-court time on my shoes, and I haven't made much of a dent in the outsoles. I’ve smoothed out some superficial texture on the outsoles, but I haven't actually worn the tread down at all. The toes are in fine shape as well, and for hard court sliders, there is a medial side cover to protect the laces by the ankles."

Traction: 8.6

Our playtesters agreed that the blend of grip and give from the ON The Roger Pro Fires was optimal on court. The split herringbone pattern allowed Brittany to chase down shots with ease. She said, "I'm happy to report that I didn't have to think about the traction when I was playing in these shoes. I felt connected to the court thanks to the low-to-the-ground feel and the traction level. These Pro Fires weren't as sticky as the Pro 2s, so I never felt stuck when changing directions and could move fluidly when starting and stopping."

"The mix of grip and give was really good for me," Tiffani added. "I don't remember a single instance of feeling stuck or having any issues transitioning to my next shot. To me, traction is ideal if I'm not thinking about it when I'm on court."

While the ON The Roger Pro Fires felt a touch too grippy to Zsofi at first, the traction became top notch after a few outings. She explained, "The traction on the outsoles was optimal, maybe just a tad bit on the sticky side, but I have no complaints. If anything, the traction started out a bit on the grippier side, but it became great as the playtest went on."

Like Zsofi, Ana found that the level of traction improved as the playtest went on. She commented, "Overall, I thought the traction was pretty good. At the beginning, I thought the shoes were a bit sticky, but they were perfect after I broke them in. These ON The Roger Pro Fires never felt slippery during this playtest."

Weight: 8.5

At 12.9 ounces (size 8.5), these ON The Roger Pro Fires fall in the mid-range for women's court shoes, but thanks to the way they are engineered for optimal energy return, they felt much lighter and speedier to our playtesters. The speediness of these shoes impressed Ana, who said, "I was surprised by how light the ON The Roger Pro Fires felt. These are perfect for high-performance players who are looking for durable and light shoes. I did not feel weighed down by the shoes."

Weight was not an issue for Brittany during the testing. She said, "I was surprised when I looked at the weight of the Pro Fires after the playtest. They are technically a little heavier than the Pro 2s, but they feel much lighter. The shoes flexed well, and I was able to get good heel-to-toe transitions. ON did a good job of distributing the weight within the shoes, and they felt quick moving around the court. I didn't have to think about the weight at all during the playtest. I wouldn't call them lightweight, but they're around average."

The zippiness of the ON The Roger Pro Fires on court surprised Zsofi. She noted, "The ON The Roger Pro Fires feel very light on foot; I almost didn't notice I was wearing them. I know that on paper they might not be the lightest shoes out there, but they are designed in such a way that they feel very speedy and much lighter than their actual weight might lead you to expect."

Tiffani thought the ON The Roger Pro Fires felt lighter after a short break-in period. She described, "It's funny to me how these shoes feel heavy in my hand, but they feel light moving around the court. It did take a couple of hours for me to get a good flexible feel out of these shoes, and they did feel a bit heavier during that break-in. Once broken in, though, I thought they felt pretty fast. I think it's because of how low they are in the forefoot and their glove-like fit."

Breakdown Summary