Adidas Gamecourt 2.0 review

Keep the Gamecourt 2.0 on your radar if:

• you are in search of a beginner-friendly tennis shoe for hard courts
• you are a recreational player who only plays 1-2 times per week
• you want an affordable shoe with excellent value for money (and durability is high on your priority list)

Cushioning is one of the weakest points of the Adidas Gamecourt 2.0, espeically in the forefoot. If you are someone who relies on good impact protection for a painful foot condition or a past injury, or you simply enjoy good cushioning for the comfort of it, this is not your shoe.

Have a look at the ASICS Gel Challenger 14 or the K-Swiss Hypercourt Express 2 instead.

The Gamecourt 2.0 packs a decent buffer of EVA foam between the foot and the floor.

Measuring its platform thickness in the heel, our calliper returned a slightly below-average reading of 26.7 mm. It is, however, a sufficient amount of cushioning for a shorter entrly-level type of tennis match.

The forefoot, on the other hand, showed a very low stack height of 15.5 mm.

Significantly lower than average, it provides a very close contact with the court but, on the downside, it can be very hard on the ball of foot and the big toe joint.

If you seek better impact protection in a budget-friendly tennis shoe, we found the ASICS Gel Dedicate 8 and the Challenger 14 to be notably better cushioned options.

The shoe's low forefoot also resulted in a steeper heel-to-toe drop of 11.2 mm. This setup puts the foot in a more forward-leaning position, making it easier to push off amd sprint to the net.

As a low-cost tennis shoe, the Gamecourt 2.0 couldn't afford anything fancier than a standard EVA foam for its primary cushioning.

And because it is a dense type of material, it doesn't have much compression which results in a higher durometer reading of 32.0 HA. That makes it a bit firmer than the average tennis shoe midsole.

But on a positive note, this is what makes this Adidas shoe feel fairly stable too.

Not much underfoot padding is offered in the shoe's insole either. Our calliper showed a below-average thickness of 3.4 mm here.

The Adidas Gamecourt 2.0 feels pretty accommodating with its rounded and non-restricting toebox shape. But to see where it stands among our lab-tested tennis shoes, we had to pour a gel mould of its interiors and measure them precisely with a calliper.

The widest part of the replica (between the big toe and the pinkie) returned a standard reading of 91.1 mm, proving to be on par with the category average. Thus, a medium-width player should feel at home in this Adidas shoe.

But the Gamecourt 2.0 gets even roomier around the toes! Its rounded forefoot shape is clearly reflected in the big toe area with a width of 72.9 mm - that's one of the widest we've ever recorded!

As for the shoe's toebox height, it remains standard with a calliper reading of 23.9 mm.

It's normal for tennis shoes to sit closer to the toes in order to maintain a secure fit during fast-paced movements and sudden direction changes.

Even though the Gamecourt 2.0 is not positioned as a highly supportive tennis shoe, we found its lateral stability quite impressive for a budget-friendly Adidas option.

The shoe managed to earn the highest stiffness score in our torsional rigidity test - 5/5! Its firm midsole with raised sidewalls and a rudimentary midfoot shank resisted all the twisting we put to it.

This makes the Gamecourt 2.0 a safe option for beginner players who are still developing their playing style but want to feel surefooted along the way.

The shoe's supportive nature also emanates through its stiff and unforgiving heel counter. Checking its resistance in our manual test, we gave it a high rigidity score of 4 out of 5. The heel and ankle hold is pretty secure in this Adidas shoe.

A good amount of stability is also generated through the shoe's sizable platform. Even before we measured it with a calliper, we could feel the benefit of its wide base for landings and push-offs.

So it didn't come as a surprise when the tool recorded an above-average reading of 115.7 mm in the widest part of the forefoot. That's a few solid milimeters wider than average!

The Adidas Gamecourt 2.0 also boasts a pretty wide heel which clocks in at 93.9 mm in the widest part. It also exceeds the category average by a few milimeters.

Considering the shoe's very thin forefoot stack and minimal reinforcement, we are not surprised that it required less force to bend to a 90-degree angle.

According to our force gauge, the Gamecourt 2.0 needed only 24.3N which is 30% less than it takes an average tennis shoe!

A flexible shoe like this can feel less propulsive but it allows increased manoeuvrability in return.

Fairly streamlined, this Adidas shoe doesn't have any bulky elements to weigh it down. For that reason, it returned a below-average weight of 11.9 oz (336g).

This Adidas shoe will not leave your feet soaking in sweat during a heated match. Our breathability tests confirmed that the Gamecourt 2.0's ventilation capacity is even better than average.

First of all, our smoke-pumping test showed large and quick billows passing through the shoe's toebox mesh. And that is despite the fact that its upper fabric didn't seem porous at all when we hovered it over the LED light.

A closer look through our microscope revealed gaps in the shoe's chainlinking which allowed to mix airflow and resilience in one mesh material.

All these findings considered, we gave the Gamecourt 2.0 a high breathability score of 4 out of 5. Excellent result for a cheaper shoe!

On top of its wear-resistant Adiwear compound, Adidas also reinforced the shoe's toebox mesh with a thick synthetic overlay. To mimic the wear and tear of court use, we drilled this overlay with sandpaper for 18 seconds at a demanding Dremel speed of 10K RPM.

Considering the shoe's price point, we were satisfied with the result and marked its toe drag guard durability with an average score of 3/5.

The Gamecourt 2.0 showed exemplary wear-resistance on top of its toebox too. The wear was so minor in this area that we didn't hesitate to give it a high durability score fo 4/5.

Not to mention that the fabric here contains 50% of recycled content!

This Adidas shoe continued to amaze us even in such a wear-prone area as the heel padding. Having drilled its inner collar lining for a few seconds, the fabric didn't even look like someone touched it!

Believe it or not, but the £90 Gamecourt 2.0 might be using the exact same Adiwear outsole as the £160 Barricade! And we've got lab measurements to prove it.

First of all, the rubber hardness is pretty similar on both shoes with the Gamecourt 2.0 showing a slightly smaller durometer reading of 84.9 HC. However, it still falls into the harder range of outsole rubbers which also tends to be more resistant to wear and tear.

The next test dispelled all of our doubts as we used the exact same Dremel method on both shoe outsoles. Turns out that the Adiwear on the Gamecourt 2.0 is just as resilient as the one on the Barricade!

With only 0.4 mm of damage in the rubber, this budget Adidas shoe offers incredible value for money!

We also found the Gamecourt's outsole to be notably thicker than that of the Barricarde. With a calliper reading of 4.4 mm, it is a pretty generous layer of protection.

The shoe's herringbone tread pattern is hardly different from the one found on most hard court tennis shoes. And its gripping capacity is on par with the average too. We believe that it is just right for entry-level and occasional players.

We are amazed at the amount of support and durability that the Adidas Gamecourt 2.0 has to offer for its price. Sure, it doesn't feel or look premium but it is a worthy investment for someone who is just starting out with the sport and doesn't want to get a replacement pair after a couple of months.

The shoe's interiors are nicely padded both around the collar and in the tongue. The latter in particular showed a standard thickness of 6.2 mm - not the most abundant padding but definitely not lacking either.

The absence of gussets on this Adidas shoe can potentially result in tongue shifting, especially during longer matches.

There are no pull tabs or finger loops but the on-and-off action is pretty effortless in the Gamecourt 2.0.

The shoe's basic insole can be easily replaced with a more padded one if needed.

The shoe's laces are pretty cheap and frail but we didn't expect anything more than that, to be honest.