Can table tennis shoes be used for badminton?

The soles of your indoorsneakers determine your contact with the ground and the cushioning and stability of the shoes must be suitable for your body.

A badminton player generally jumps more often and his movements can be more taxing than those of a table tennis player. 

Good one table tennis shoes and good badminton shoes have the task of protecting your feet and joints from injury.

Think for yourself which movements you often make and adjust the choice of your shoe accordingly.

It would be more logical that you choose sports shoes that match your specific indoor sport. However, the movements you make in table tennis and badminton can be very similar.

Maybe you are a table tennis player who often jumps and you are looking for cushioning rather than grip in a shoe!

A badminton player may prefer more grip, because he prefers to move left and right quickly across the floor, rather than jumping.

Let's put both shoes side by side for a comparison.

This way you can determine whether you can do with a pair of shoes, or whether you need your own pair for each sport.

What are table tennis shoes?

Table tennis is a sport that is often practiced indoors.

Table tennis shoes must meet a number of properties that are important for indoor sports (I have a complete buying guide here).

However, you should also consider shoes that can support all table tennis movements. 

Table tennis shoes should be flexible but sturdy. They can withstand short sprints and quick lateral movements.

Our knee and ankle joints can be put under considerable strain. The right shoes absorb these brusque and movements well. 

So we want a flexible shoe, but with cushioning and stability.

It is therefore good if table tennis shoes have a not too thick midsole, because you want some cushioning, but at the same time you want to keep good contact with the ground.

You're also looking for a wider sole surface for stability during lateral movements.

What are the benefits of table tennis shoes?

Real table tennis shoes offer advantages during table tennis competitions and training. Below you can read what they are.

• Excellent grip
• Flexibility
• Good thinner or medium insole, but not too thick
• Cup-shaped sole 
• Firm upper for more support

When you seriously play table tennis several hours a week, it is better not to randomly put on a pair of sports shoes and go.

A real table tennis shoe or similar indoor shoe is the right choice.

An ordinary sports shoe can have an insole that is too thick, so that your grip is not optimal; a sprained ankle may be in the offing.

However, if you have to deal with an insole that is too thin, your joints will have a hard time.

In addition, you are looking for a flexible, tub-shaped sole to absorb quick lateral movements.

The top of the shoe should be strong and fit snugly around your foot so that you stand and run securely and well-balanced.

What are the disadvantages of table tennis shoes?

Table tennis shoes offer you good protection against most injuries. However, you have to take into account a few minor drawbacks:

• Feel a bit stiffer 
• Not usable for outdoor sports

Table tennis shoes focus much more on a good grip and on not slipping and sliding, than on being comfortable and soft.

Sports shoes with a thicker midsole therefore provide more cushioning and much more comfort.

Sometimes the sturdy upper of a table tennis shoe can also feel a bit tighter on your foot.

This is experienced as stiff and hard, especially when breaking in, but as with any other shoe; after wearing it a few times, this shoe also takes the shape of your foot.

There are also table tennis shoes with an upper without stitching, which will at least prevent that specific irritation.

What are badminton shoes?

Badminton is also a real indoor sport.

Badminton shoes must therefore be suitable for indoor use, but also offer sufficient protection during fast movements and jumps. 

With badminton shoes you must be able to sprint short and jump high. You sometimes make fast movements here, forwards, backwards, but also sideways. 

A good badminton shoe has an insole that protects your joints, is flexible and absorbs lateral movements.

You need shoes with a not too thin, medium midsole for this sport.

You want to keep contact with the ground, but you still need protection in the form of good cushioning.

You sometimes make high jumps that are stressful for your joints. Many badminton shoes have approximately the characteristics of table tennis shoes.

It is also often possible to choose the same pair of shoes for both sports, but not necessarily always.

What are the benefits of badminton shoes?

Badminton shoes are quite similar to table tennis shoes, but have a few other advantages:

• Good grip
• A medium, not too thin insole
• Sturdy upper
• Flexibility
• Light weight
• Rounded outsole
• Reinforced heel piece

Probably the biggest advantage of a pair of badminton shoes is that you can make many high jumps with them due to the medium cushioning and the light weight, but at the same time keep some 'feel' with the floor.

Of course your knees and ankles shouldn't suffer too much from your antics! 

Badminton can be intense. The many steps you have to make during a game of badminton also require flexibility from the shoe, but at the same time firmness.

A rounded outsole helps you move from front to back and side to side.

The heel piece of a perfect badminton shoe is completely surrounded by harder materials to prevent the ankle from spraining. It provides a more stable landing after a jump. 

What are the disadvantages of badminton shoes?

Badminton shoes may also have some disadvantages, namely: 

• Interior at toes rather broken
• Preferably use socks and/or insole in combination with badminton
• Not always fitted with a carbon plate

Badminton players sometimes 'drag' their foot across the floor to keep their balance. The fabric on the inside near the toes can therefore wear out quickly.

If necessary, look for shoes that use more wear-resistant material.

Because some shoes cannot protect 100% against jumping, it is often better to protect your feet with additional means. 

This can be in the form of an insole and special badminton socks, both of which offer a lot of extra support.

Expensive badminton shoes are often fitted with a carbon plate under the hollow of the sole of the foot.

This gives the shoes more suspension and offers more stability. Unfortunately, this is not the case with all badminton shoes.

Are you going for table tennis shoes or badminton shoes?

You have probably already been able to form a good picture of both table tennis and badminton shoes.

They are certainly very similar, but there are always some small details that make a shoe just that little bit more suitable for one sport or the other.

But when do you specifically choose table tennis shoes, or badminton shoes?

Both types of shoes can be used well in both sports. They are both useful for making quick lateral movements and provide the foot with a firm base. However, table tennis shoes are the best choice if you don't jump too high, as badminton players often do. 

Badminton shoes, due to their not too thin, medium insole, may give a little less grip, but therefore dampen better. The heel is also often extra protected.

Most of the characteristics of these two types of shoes are the same. So you can easily use a pair of table tennis shoes for an occasional game of badminton.

Although you may have a slightly thinner insole; but you can of course consider putting in an extra sole for badminton!

You can also easily use badminton shoes for a game of table tennis, you may have less 'feeling' on the floor, but that does not make a huge difference compared to table tennis shoes.

Joost Nusselder, the founder of referees.eu is a content marketer, father and loves to write about all kinds of sports, and has also played a lot of sports himself for most of his life. Now since 2016, he and his team have been creating helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with their sports activities.