Rafael Nadal Wears These for a Reason

For Rafael Nadal, making the switch from the Nike Breathe Cage tennis sneaker to the Air Courtballistec 1.3 was a big deal. The superstar tends to get comfortable with familiarity, and the sneaker switch was no exception.

Nadal’s switch from the Nike Breathe Cage to the Nike Air Courtballistec 1.3 has been a successful one. The white, black, and gold color scheme gives the sneaker just enough luster to stand out without making too much noise. Many pros have begun to wear it too.

While it passes the test with flying colors in the looks department, how does it actually feel? This is obviously more important, especially to serious tennis players. After having worn them for a week after buying them, we’ll never put our Breathe Frees on again. These shoes give us everything we’re looking for in the comfort department.

Weighing in at 17.7 ounces, they’re actually quite heavy. Due to the architecture of the sneaker, the weight is distributed in such as way so that the sneaker doesn’t weigh you down. We were definitely light on our feet, and you have to assume that Rafael Nadal and many other pros wouldn’t settle for a heavy feeling sneaker either.

Perhaps this is due to the new LunarLight technology, which features some first of its kind padding at the shoe’s core. Then there’s the DragOn X, which lends support to the toes (especially the big one) to make sure that collisions with the front of the sneaker are minimal. Anyone who plays enough tennis knows exactly what we’re talking about here.

One important thing to note about these shoes is you probably will not be able to wear them to play tennis the first day you buy them. With the Nike Air Courtballistec 1.3, they take a little while to break in comfortably. They arrive to you very stiff, but wearing them either around the house or casually for a day or two will break them in. Also, we’d recommend getting a half size smaller than you normally would buy. So if you wore a 10.5 in most Nike shoes, a 10 will fit you better in the Nike Air Courtballistec 1.3.

This is a sneaker cut out for advanced tennis players. While anyone playing at a serious level usually wears their sneakers down, these are guaranteed to last you at least 6 months, no matter how often you play. The outsole guarantee assures you a new pair if you wear them down any sooner.

All in all, the pros wear this for a reason. It’s a great sneaker that gives you everything you’d looking for in a tennis shoe. Shop around a bit to find the best deal, because they’re out there. Good luck!yea