Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour review

Based on our extensive playtesting and over 20 lab measurements, we believe that the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour will suit:

• athletes who want it all from a tennis shoe (cushioning, stability, comfort)
• players who want it in a reasonably lightweight setup
• people with wider feet

We didn't find anything awfully wrong with the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour. It is the type of shoe that can easily match most tennis players.

However, if you are a seasoned player who has developed more specific demands, here are some reasons why you may need a different shoe:

• you have overpronation and need more stability and support (try ASICS Resolution 9)
• you are willing to pay more for the best performance and durability (see ASICS Court FF 3)
• you want a lighter shoe, around 12 oz/340g (consider ASICS Solution Speed FF 2)

The Wave Enforce Tour is a real sandwich of a shoe! This has got to be the first time we see so many cushioning layers in a tennis model.

And all of them combined make up 33.0 mm of stack height in the heel, according to our calliper. This is by far the tallest heel cushioning we've come across in our lab, as far as tennis shoes go. We loved how it turns hard landings into the most pleasant experience!

As for the forefoot cushioning, it is not the tallest we've got but feels quite well-cushioned for staying up on our toes. Based on our calliper, the forefoot stack is 21.1 mm thick.

Looking at the heel-to-toe drop, we see a difference of 11.9 mm. This makes the Enforce Tour's cushioning slightly more biased towards the heel.

We felt like it was a fine balance because it wasn't excessive and yet helped our feet transition from heels to toes effortlessly.

There is a whole lot to unpack in the midsole of the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour!

Starting with the primary (green) Mizuno Enerzy foam that runs full length from heel to toe, we measured its softness at 32.7 HA. This translates to firm but not brick-like. This firmness is just enough to create a stable and reliable carrier for the rest of the cushioning to fall back on.

And it felt quite responsive too!

On top of the firmest Enezry foam is a slightly softer (blue) one. According to our durometer, it is only 4% softer than the primary foam at 31.5 HA.

Finally, we have two incredibly soft pieces of (red) cushioning sandwiched between two main foams. One is under the heel and the other one is under the ball of the foot.

These components showed the absolute plushest reading on our durometer - a barely-there 3.5 HA! It is barely even caught by the tool and quite literally feels like a marshmallow.

So the basic mechanics of the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour is that the plushest cushioning creates compression while the two firmer foams keep in under control, adding stability and responsiveness. This tennis shoe is nowhere near mushy on the court!

Last but not least, a well-padded insole completes the cushioning ensemble of the Enforce Tour. Using a calliper, we measured its thickness at 4.8 mm which is standard for a tennis shoe.

Players who have long wished for a more spacious tennis shoe, your prayers have been heard!

We found the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour a little too roomy for our medium-width feet which means that wide footers are going to enjoy themselves a lot!

Checking the shoe's toebox width at the widest part, our calliper showed 104.0 mm which is a few millimetres wider than average.

The Enforce Tour remains adequately spacious towards the toes too. We measured the toebox width at the big toe mark at 77.3 mm. This is the typical width across tennis shoes.

If you are in search of a stable tennis shoe that won't let your ankle roll at the next crossover step, we can guarantee that the Mizuno Enforce Tour does the job!

Don't expect it to be the same monster as the ASICS Gel Resolution 9 or the Adidas Barricade 13 though! There are no stiff TPU stabilisers or raised sidewalls here.

In our manual stiffness test, we found the Wave Enforce Tour to be quite forgiving, Like we said, there is no solid support system in the midfoot or on the sides of the shoe.

On a 1-5 scale, where 5 is the stiffest, we rated the shoe's torsional rigidity as 4. It is more flexible than most tennis shoes (ASICS especially).

No one likes that annoying ankle slipping and sliding inside the shoe, but you are totally safe with the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour! The rear of our foot felt so securely locked inside its heel cup, that we never once had a problem with undue ankle play.

The shoe's heel counter felt nice and structured and it had a welcome stiffness to it, offering a firm heel hold.

The Enforce Tour draws plenty of stability from its wide and steady platform. In the widest part of the forefoot, our calliper measured 113.0 mm which is a few millimetres wider than average.

There is also an outrigger on the outer side of the forefoot which granted an amazing stopping power, especially on sharp lateral moves.

The shoe's wider base is especially pronounced in the heel. Measuring the distance between its widest points gave us 99.7 mm. This is about a whole centimetre wider than the average tennis shoe.

No matter how awkward our landing angles were, this large landing area was always there for us.

Sealing up the shoe's stability is the unique Dyna-Heel Lock support around the ankle. It features an internal sleeve that is very intricately connected to the lacing system.

Once the whole setup was cinched up, we experienced an amazing clasp around the ankle. What's more, people with narrow feet can also make use of the extra eyelet to achieve an even tighter fit.

The absence of a stiff shank inside the shoe's midsole offered notably more freedom to bend the foot. Compared to the average tennis shoe, our lab test showed that the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour is 10% more flexible.

How did we measure? Having fixed the shoe to the table, we bent it to a 90-degree angle with the help of a force gauge. The latter showed how much force it took to perform that action. It was 26.9N for the Enforce Tour.

A tennis shoe that feels amazingly stable, cushioned, and doesn't weigh you down? Yes, please!

Mizuno managed to keep the weight of the Wave Enforce Tour at a reasonable level. Putting the shoe on our scale, we got 13.1 oz (370g) in a men's US size 9. That's a nice, standard weight for a men's tennis shoe. Especially given the shoe's slightly taller-than-average stack height.

After 30 minutes of vigorous playtesting, our feet weren't really yearning for air in the Wave Enforce Tour. But they didn't feel extra fresh and ventilated either.

Taking the shoe back to our lab, we ran it through our smoke-pumping test. Turns out, that it is indeed only moderately breathable as the smoke failed to pass through the shoe's toebox.

You can see how the Solution Speed FF 2 lets the smoke escape quite effortlessly compared to Mizuno. Thus, we rated the Wave Enforce Tour's breathability with an average score of 3 out of 5.

Hovering the half-cut upper over a bright light, it is obvious that the shoe's most aerated part is the tongue. It is made of highly porous mesh.

In an attempt to find at least a hint of breathability, we looked at the shoe's toebox through our microscope.

As you can see, ventilation holes are practically non-existent in the densely woven fabric of the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour.

For all the hard-court sliders out there, we made sure to put the upper of this Mizuno shoe through its paces. Equipped with a Dremel set to 5K RPM speed, we drilled the toebox for 12 seconds at a consistent speed of 3.2N.

And even though we weren't as impressed with the result as in some other shoes from ASICS, it wasn't a disappointment at all! The Dremel only got through the topmost synthetic layer and didn't leave a see-through hole. For that, we rated the shoe's toebox durability with an average score - 3 out of 5.

Another essential part of the shoe's toebox longevity is the rubber reinforcement on the medial side. After a session full of sliding, we saw no signs of wear! 

Sadly, the inner lining of the shoe fared much worse against the Dremel. It is a pretty delicate part, to begin with, and Mizuno didn't seem to try hard to reinforce it.

Only 4 seconds of drilling at the speed of 5K RPM went right through the fabric meeting no resistance.

We had no choice but to rate this shoe's heel padding durability with the lowest score - 1 out of 5. That is a very poor performance compared to the average of tennis shoes.

Measuring the shoe's rubber hardness with a durometer left us quite hopeful about the outsole's durability. The tool returned 89.1 HC which is a bit harder than the average reading.

It is a good sign as you certainly don't want soft rubber to deal with hard court.

And the Wave Enforce Tour showed pretty good results! Even when we sped up the Dremel to 10K RPM and applied it for a longer time of 22 seconds, it left relatively insignificant damage on the outsole.

Using a tread gauge, we measured the depth of the dent at 0.8 mm. Even though it is a tiny bit deeper than average, it is still below the risky 1 mm for a tennis shoe.

We also checked the amount of outsole rubber to make sure there was enough material to resist the rigours of the hard court. And the news is great! There is 4.4 mm of outsole which is perfect for a tennis shoe.

Not to mention that the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour comes with a 6-month durability guarantee for the outsole. So if you burn through your tennis shoes in a matter of weeks, you are up for a replacement pair!

The Enforce Tour mixes a sharp herringbone pattern with triangular multi-directional lugs, resulting in a highly effective grip.

Testing its limits on a hard court, we were quite happy with the outsole's ability to stop on a sixpence and at the same time, slide with ease when needed.

The in-shoe comfort is incredible in the Mizuno Wave Enforce Tour! From the tongue to the collar padding, it feels like a soft padded slipper against the foot.

Interestingly, the tongue padding doesn't extend full length and is only present in the topmost part, to protect the instep from lace bites. Nice way to trim down the weight and help breathability!

The shoe's tongue is partially attached to the upper on the sides. Paired with the Dyna-Heel Lock, it creates some of the most secure lockdowns we've experienced in tennis shoes! Unless you have narrow feet, of course.

Heel tabs are not present on the Wave Enforce Tour but we were able to hold onto the extended part of the heel collar when getting the shoe on.

Those who want to elevate comfort with an aftermarket insole or orthotic can easily swap the stock one.