Gabe Tardio Signature Pickleball Shoe: USA-based company Stria Sport has released a new pickleball shoe called the G1 Court Shoe, made for 19-year-old star Gabe Tardio. He showed off the shoe during the Select Medical Orange County Cup in San Clemente, California, and will wear it in future matches. The shoe goes on limited pre-sale July 4, 2025.
A First for Pickleball
Gabe Tardio plays singles and doubles in the PPA and ranks number 12 and number 3, respectively. He also plays for Major League Pickleball’s St. Louis team. Stria Sport Founder Eric Porter shared why this partnership is special.
“The top players in basketball have signature shoes. We’re bringing that to pickleball,” . “Gabe’s an outstanding player and we’re super excited for the partnership. We feel like he’s worthy of having his own shoe.”(Eric Porter)
Stria’s Journey to Pickleball
Stria Sport first became known for basketball shoes worn by over 90 pro players in the EuroLeague, Australian NBL, and the Olympics. As pickleball grew, fans began asking for court shoes.
Eric Porter explained how this shift happened.
“We were getting emails from customers saying, ‘We love your shoe but we’ve been wearing it for pickleball. Have you ever made a pickleball shoe?’”. “We were like, ‘Let’s take the qualities of our basketball shoe and create a pickleball court shoe that works.’”
Features of the G1 Court Shoe
The G1 Court Shoe has special features for the sport. It uses a wide base for balance, a built-in ankle collar, and a heel counter for strong support. The outer mesh keeps feet cool during long games.
Gabe Tardio helped design the shoe, giving feedback on every part. The deal will also give Gabe Tardio royalties from sales.
A Big Move for Tardio
David Hathaway, founder of Godfather of Pickleball, talked about what this means for Gabe Tardio.
“It’s a pretty substantial milestone that an athlete can have a signature shoe, as opposed to some of the more household brands that were exploring Gabe,”. “We had many offers for him with several major shoe manufacturers. This was an opportunity that we thought for him, at this stage of his career would be not only good publicity for his brand … but also the opportunity to make outsized returns if those shoes sold well.”(David Hathaway)
What This Means for Pickleball
With pickleball’s popularity rising fast, the launch of Gabe Tardio’s shoe shows how the sport is becoming more professional. Fans and players now have new gear made just for their game. If the G1 Court Shoe is a success, it could inspire other brands to create more pickleball products and highlight more young athletes.
News in Brief: Gabe Tardio Signature Pickleball Shoe
Stria Sport launched the G1 Court Shoe for Gabe Tardio, a top pickleball player. The shoe goes on sale July 4, 2025. It has special features for pickleball, and Tardio helped design it. This launch shows how fast pickleball is growing as a major sport.